It's More Then Just a Promise
by AquaNix
Summary: AU. After being banished, Naruto goes to Shion and decides to fulfill his promise to her. Shion could not be more happy. But dark clouds are on the horizon and the couple soon realizes that in order to fulfill a promise, blood has to be drawn. NaruxShion
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. This upcoming story however, I do own.**

Dark clouds covered the sky. Thunder rumbled, lighting flashed and rain drops were hitting the ground at astonishing speeds. All in all, this wasn't the weather to be walking in. yet for one spiky, blond haired person, this was what Uzumaki Naruto was doing. As he walked, his mind wandered back to what happened two weeks ago, on that faithful day where all his dreams shattered in one heartfelt moment.

_Flashback _

_Naruto entered the newly built __Konohagakure no Sato council chamber. All of the councilors were present, along with Tsunade and her elders, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. It had been four weeks ever since the battle versus Pein and his bodies. Naruto looked at everyone present, dread filling every fiber of his bones. He had been called to discuss a matter with the council and all of Konoha. By looking at his adopted grandmother's face, he knew he was in for a world of hurt._

"_Uzumaki Naruto, so glad of you to join us, started Homura. Please take a seat."_

_Naruto took his seat right next to Tsunade, who couldn't look at her adopted son's face._

"_Naruto, do you know why you have been called today, questioned Homura."_

_Deciding to actually be nice and respectful for once, Naruto answered, "No Elder Mitokado, I do not."_

_Koharu picked up from where Homura left off. "It has come to our attention that you nearly unleashed the Kyubi during your recent fight."_

_Naruto finally understood where this was going and he knew he wasn't going to like the outcome. Once again deciding to play dumb, he replied "and what does that have to do with anything? I was able to defeat Pein." However, only Naruto knew that he really did not defeat Pein. Only he knew that he had convinced Pein to finally end the bloodshed and allow himself to go into the afterlife._

"_You are correct in that you were able to beat Pein, stated Homura. However, the council has decided that you're too much of a liability to this village and the people. Therefore, for the last week or so, we have debated and have come to the conclusion that you have to leave." (This is all putting it nicely, by the way)._

_Immediately, Naruto stood up from his seat, despite the cry of the elders to sit his butt back down. "Are you serious, he shouted, anger clearly etched on his face. Have u guys gone incredibly insane? What would make you even think I would deliberately hurt the people of Konoha?"_

"_Regardless of if you want to hurt the people or it was all by accident, the decision has already been made. By tonight, you are banished from this village. You are hereby stripped of you rank. If you come close to Konoha, we will issue a Kill on Site order on you." _

_Later, in Naruto's apartment_

_Naruto looked at what he was bringing. His basic orange and black shirt and pants (several pairs of such clothing), several Ramen cups for his journey, his kunai and shuriken, and his reverse summoning scroll, which was tied to his back. He was also bringing his father's special kunai, which Naruto found while scrounging through the Hokage's basement. _

_But now another problem had arisen. Where was he supposed to go? As the many destinations ran through mind, Naruto found he couldn't go to too much places. Sunagakure was his first option, but then that would only complicate the current situation. Even though him and Gaara were best friends, Gaara was Kazekage and the Sand council could alert the Konoha council of him being there, since the two were allies. _

_The next destination was Yuki No Kuni/Haru No Kuni, but that was too far away. It would take him more then what had he packed to head to there. Even though he was aching to see Princess Koyuki, he simply didn't have the supplies to go see her._

_Up next was Nami No Kuni. Tazuna and his family would welcome him with open arms, but last he heard, Kirigakure was still in midst of a civil war and Naruto did not want to put Tazuna and his family in danger if Kiri went for them and the Land of Waves._

_As the list went on and on, Naruto started becoming saddened. Suddenly, he had remembered one of the promises he made to someone. As the memory came back, a smile seemed to split his face. He had finally had an idea where he would go._

_Priestess Shion and Oni No Kuni._

_As Naruto though about this place, he couldn't find any fault about going there. The people loved him for saving Shion. Shion herself loved Naruto and even though he didn't know it back then, the promise he made was to father more priestesses for Shion. The land was far away enough to not put anyone he loved in danger, but close enough that it did not take months to get there. The land was not allied with any known elemental nation, so no one knew that he would be there for a long time. _

_With his destination set in mind, Naruto got ready and packed all of his remaining gear and supplies. It was time to pay Shion a long awaited visit._

_End Flashback_

It took two weeks, filled with some detours to replenish his supply of ramen, for Uzumaki Naruto to get to Oni Ku Ni. As the view of the semi-large gate appeared right before his eyes, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, I'm here, he said."

There were two guards posted as duty. One of them stepped forward and declared, "Halt! State your name and reason for coming to Oni Ku Ni."

Naruto immediately got confused. 'When did this happen' he wondered? Deciding that was a question in the near future, he replied. "The name is Uzumaki Naruto and I have come to fulfill a promise I made some time ago."

The guards immediately bowed to Naruto. "Uzumaki-sama, it is great to see you again. The Priestess will be happy to know that you have come to visit her again."

The group started to walk into the town, where Naruto saw many happiness and tranquility. Men were lounging around or were walking around. Women were walking with their loved ones or laughing with their best friends. Children were running around and just enjoying their youthful lives. All in all, it was the best picture that Naruto could paint.

However, despite the beautiful scene that was right in front of his eyes, Naruto also noticed the increased security around the town. There were more guards posted several yards away from the gate and when they got to the palace, Naruto also saw more guards posted, at least three times more then what he saw the last time he was here.

Deciding that he was missing something, he turned to the guard and asked him the question that was on his mind.

"Excuse me, but why so many guards? Last time I was here, there was not that much."

The guard immediately got a sad look. "Uzumaki-sama, the priestess has not told you in her letters?"

"What letters, Naruto asked. I have not received any letters ever since I last saw Shion."

The guard got an angry look. "You are saying that you have not received any letters from the priestess." The guard wanted to make sure that he had heard Naruto correctly.

"That is what I am aware of", replied Naruto. "Was I supposed to receive letters?"

"Yes, the priestess takes time out of ruling to write you letters and when you never replied back, she got both angry and sad, replied the guard. It tore us up, not to mention the many assassinations on her life." The guard thought he had said this low enough, but Naruto still heard him and he became mad.

"Who has been trying to kill her?" Naruto wanted answers and damnit, he was going to get them.

The guard took note of Naruto's rising voice and decided to stop there. "Uzumaki-sama, Priestess Shion will fill you in when we get to her. Now I know it took you awhile to get here, so would you like to rest for the rest of the day? I can have one of the inns get you a room for now and you can visit the priestess later."

Knowing that is was best to wait for Shion, Naruto decided to take the guard's offer and was offered a room in one of the inns near the palace.

It was hard to be a priestess. It was even harder to be a priestess that could tell who would die and when. Sadly, that was what Shion was. Still, someone had to rule Oni No Kuni and she had been selected to be its next ruler.

Setting down another marriage proposal, she was brought back into the real world when a messenger came running into her chamber.

"Yes", she replied tersely. She really didn't want to be disturbed.

The messenger took some time to catch his breath and then started.

"Ma'am, we have received a letter from Kumogakure."

Shion sighed. This was the fifth letter in the last ten days. She really wished the Raikage would stop asking her for her hand in an arranged marriage. Her heart was for one man and one man only.

"What are the contents of this letter", she asked, already dreading the answer.

"The letter has asked you to either accept the marriage proposal", the messenger began.

Shion stopped him there. "Please return the letter just like I did the last several times."

"But ma'am, the letter says to either accept the proposal or he would declare war on us."

This made Shion stop. 'Is the Raikage serious about this marriage thing' she wondered. 'I know that he would not declare full war on us if he does not want to face the other villages. But it still raises the question of why he is going to such extremes.'

Before she could ask the messenger another question, someone else came running into the chamber.

The person bowed right before the priestess and reported in. "Guard Goro, reporting in." Goro then stood at attention.

Shion nodded her head. "At ease, she ordered. What is the news from the border patrol?"

Goro then produced a scroll and read out loud. "Guard towers have reported only one sighting of another human. This person was asked to provide his name and reasoning for his visitation. The man claims to be one Uzumaki Naruto and has…"

Goro stopped when Shion gasped. "My lady, is something wrong", the concerned guard asked.

Shion did not hear him. She had her hands on her mouth and she was trying really hard not to bolt out of the chamber and search for her beloved.

Making sure that this was no joke, Shion asked the guard. "Please state that name again."

"Uzumaki Naruto." "Guard Haruko has sent him to the inn right next to the palace…:"

Goro never got to finish what he was saying, before Shion bolted right past him.

He blinked and then thought, 'that is one starstruck woman.' Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to the messenger and asked, "So what is the recent letter about?"

Naruto was currently lying down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. His mind had wandered to the guard's cryptic meaning. He was also thinking about Shion and he wandered how much she had grown.

'Last time I saw her, I would have defined her as beautiful.' 'She had a great face, beautiful eyes and a grand body'. 'If I had to guess, she had at least a C cup, probably even a D cup.' 'What I wouldn't do to put my hands on those…'

He immediately sat up. 'God I'm turning into Ero-sennin.' He put his hands on his face and ran them down. 'Alright calm down.' It's perfectly normal to be thinking of Shion in that way.' 'With her fine legs, beautiful amethyst eyes, and a personality to kill for.' 'Not to mention those wonderful melons on her chest…'

He was put out of his thoughts when the door to his room was being knocked on. Shacking his head to eliminate any lingering thoughts about Shion's assets, he walked to the door and opened it, only to find that the person knocking was the very person that he just though about.

"Shion-chan", Naruto said.

"Naruto-kun", started Shion.

**First ever story. Please review. Comments and criticisms are welcome but no flames please.**

Glossary

**Oni No Kuni-Land of Demons**

**Nani No Kuni-Land of Waves**

**Yuki No Kuni/Haru No Kuni-Land of Snow/Land of Spring**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. This upcoming story however, I do own.**

Chapter 2-The Long Awaited Visit

As the two stared at each other, Naruto couldn't take his eyes of Shion. 'My god, he thought, she is even more of a goddess then last time.' Her blond hair still reached her waist, but now her hair had been swept to the side more and included some braids. Her amethyst eyes stood out more, thanks to the mascara that she wore. Her clothing consisted of a deep blue kimono that hugged her body and Naruto could see every delicious feminine curve imaginable. To complete this beautiful ensemble, she had on deep blue sandals. There was also a purple bracelet that was on her left wrist.

While Naruto was appraising Shion, she was doing the same with Naruto. 'Could Naruto get any more handsome' she thought. Even though Naruto had packed his suitcase full of his favorite black and orange shirts and pants, he decided to dress up in civvies for today. A dark black muscle shirt clung to his body, showing off his well-built arms and some of his abs. he had on orange cargo pants and he was wearing black shoes. The one thing that caught Shion was the simple fact that he now towered over her. If she had to guess, he was at least six feet two inches.

The more that they stared at the other, the more Naruto's eyes started to travel downward. To be more precise, his eyes traveled down to the chest area. His eyes nearly flew out of his head. 'Forget being a C cup, she must be at least DD.'

"Naruto, my eyes are up here", Shion stated.

He snapped out of his thoughts. "Shion, it's nice to see you again. It's been a long time since my last visit."

Shion smiled. "Far to long, my handsome man."

Naruto blushed. "Shion-chan, I'm not that handsome. I'm sure you've gotten marriage proposals from the most wealthiest and most handsome of men."

At the mention of the marriage letters, Shion grew sad. It was common knowledge in Oni No Kuni that Shion received at least ten different marriage proposals each week. Most of them came from Kumogakure, but she had also received some from Sunagakure and Iwagakure. Hi No Kuni's Daimyo also sent her letters asking her to wed his youngest son. Shion had politely declined all of them, but she was nearly at her wit's end with the letters. Suna had stopped about two days ago, but Iwa and Kumo were persistent.

"Shion did I say something wrong" asked Naruto, looking at her facial expression.

Shion immediately plastered a fake smile on her face. "No Naruto, you didn't say anything wrong. It's just that you know…" she immediately had to think of something. "Flu season is coming up and I think I might've gotten it."

Now Naruto was no idiot. Sure he was super dense sometimes, but even he could tell that smile was fake, that something was bothering Shion. However, he decided to let it be, knowing that Shion would discuss it later with him in a more secure place.

"So how has ruling Oni No Kuni been for you Shion," asked Naruto.

Shion put a hand on her forehead. "It's been a hassle, that's for sure. I can't go for a day without hearing reports of bandits and other troublemakers in Oni No Kuni."

Naruto smiled. "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

Shion raised bother her eyes up to Naruto's face. "Oh really. Last week I got a report that someone was tearing up marketplaces looking for ramen. When I sent three guards to the town, they reported that all the marketplaces and stores were out of stock of ramen."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well ummmm that was partially my bad."

Shion smirked. "Partially? Knowing you Naruto, it was more the just partially your fault. If I had to hazard a guess, it was your entire fault that that town ran out of ramen."

"At least I left a good sum of money," Naruto retorted.

Shion sighed. "That's beside the point, Naruto. Because of you, I have had more headaches in the past week then I have ever had in the past month."

Naruto shrugged. "At least I make things interesting for you, right?"

Shion giggled. "You got that right. If it wasn't for you I would be dealing with reports about wars and assassinations…"

Shion shut her mouth right then and there. She hadn't meant to say those words and she hoped that Naruto didn't pick them up. Unfortunately, Naruto heard her and decided to capitalize on it.

"What do you mean, reports about assassinations and wars?" Naruto wanted to know who would assassinate young Shion.

Seeing that Naruto would not stop asking unless she told him, Shion unclamped her mouth. "For the past 2 months, my guards have stopped at least fifteen different assassinations attempts. But before we could determine who would kill me, all the bodies were burned because of some kind of jutsu. We are no closer to finding out then we were 2 months ago."

Tears started to come out of Shion's eyes. It was too much for her, with the many assassination attempts and the marriage proposals. Now that she had involved Naruto, Shion knew that she would have to use Naruto as protection. After what happened the first time, that was the last thing Shion wanted.

Naruto pulled Shion into a hug and tried to calm her. "What are you afraid of? You know that nothing could kill you."

Through her sobs, Shion told him. "It's not-hic-me, it's you. I don't-hic-want to put into any kind of danger."

Naruto laughed. "Shion-chan, you should know that my life is one big circle of danger. I'm no stranger to danger. I would gladly give my life to protect you, Shion-chan."

Somehow, Naruto always knew what to say and when. Shion stopped crying, though you can still her hiccup from time to time. "What would I do without you, Naruto-kun?"

"You would be trapped inside the stomach of a demon king that was hell bent on the world, he replied. Besides, I'm here to stay."

"But why, what happened to Konoha", Shion asked. I thought you wanted to become Hokage. I thought that that was your dream."

Naruto frowned. "I guess you weren't informed of what happened. Sit down; this will take a while to explain." As Shion took a seat at the edge of the bed, Naruto pulled a chair from the room and began his tale.

5555555555555555555

_2 hours later_

"…and this is where I decided to come after what happened." Naruto finished. He watched Shion's face, waiting for any reaction, any kind of reaction. That was because Shion had been so quiet ever since Naruto had begun his tale.

To say that Shion was mad would have been the understatement of the century. Inside Shion's mind, she was about ready to march to Konoha and beat several heads of several councilors. 'How could they do this to him' she wondered. 'He beats one of the most powerful Akatsuki and they banish him because of the Kyubi.' However, at the same time these thoughts were forming, an inner voice of hers then sang out.

'_Oh well. Their lost, our gain. The council should have never let him go. I think it's only ladylike for you to show Naruto around the new village. You should also relax him, for his long journey here must have been very tiring.'_

The innuendo that this hidden voice was trying to convey did not go unnoticed by Shion. Blushing ten different shades of red, she tried to calm the inner war in her mind.

'I mean, I do love Naruto for what he did. But I'm not in love with am i?'

'_Sure keep telling yourself that. By the way, it might be best for you to go back to the real world, since our man has been calling us for like 5 minutes. Till we meet again.'_

'Wait I need your help in this situation…oh crap.' Shion was now really exasperated with her inner mind. Telling herself that she only liked Naruto, Shion followed her inner's advice and got back to actually listening to Naruto.

"Sorry about that Naruto, I was thinking about something, Shion apologized. What were you saying?"

"I was asking whether or not you would be alright of me staying here," Naruto answered.

Shion had retained her calm exterior, but on the inside, her consciousness was doing cartwheels. "It would honor me for you to stay here, hero of Oni No Kuni."

Naruto blushed. "You know I don't like titles, Shion."

Shion giggled. "Well, you do go out of your way to earn said titles. If you had not been banished from Konoha, you would have earned a different title then the one I just gave you."

"I don't think so, Naruto answered. I actually I would have been fine with just the villagers actually accepting me rather then sending glares and hateful looks my way."

"You always had a heart of gold Naruto, Shion stated. If it was me, I would have hated the village for what they did to me."

Naruto shook his head at Shion. "Well I would have, but someone came to me and explained the entire thing to me."

Shion now was more puzzled then ever before. "Who came to you?"

"My father, Minato Namikaze."

It was hard to not miss the shock that came to Shion's face.

"The fourth Hokage? The one and only wielder of the Hirashin jutsu? THAT MINATO NAMIKAZE?"

Naruto had to cover his ears at that last part. "Yeah that was my reaction to. Though I didn't squeal like a girl."

Shion pouted. "That's because you're not a girl in the first place, Naruto."

Naruto smiled. "Touché. Score one for Shion."

Shion laughed at Naruto's antics. "Besides getting to know that your father is the fourth Hokage, what else did you learn during the Pein attack?"

Naruto sighed. "Nothing much. I guess finding out who your father is kinda tops the cake in my book."

Shion nodded, kinda getting what Naruto was saying. Though in her situation, what shocked her the most was that Naruto was the son of the fourth Hokage, yet he was telling her this like he knew it all along. Suspecting that he did, she asked.

"Naruto, you seem to be taking this kinda cool like. Doesn't any of this surprise you at all?"

Naruto shrugged. "I always had this feeling that I knew the fourth Hokage, but I never let the thought spring forward until I returned to Konoha. When I looked at the mountain, I was shocked to see that I was a splitting image of him. But once again, I let the feeling drop, thinking that I was going insane. That has happened to me a lot you know."

Shion giggled once more. "You're right on that part. I have never seen a person, much less a ninja, that has to go through the same situations that you have to go through."

Naruto shrugged again. "You get used to it after awhile. Hell, my first "C-Ranked Mission" turned into an A-Ranked mission because we faced a missing nin."

"You know, you never told me about your training trip with Jiraya, Shion pointed out. I would like to know what happened during those 2 and a half years of training."

Naruto smiled. "Boy Shion, you're in for a real treat. But first, would my lady like to show me around the village?"

Shion stood up. "Well I guess I can take you up on that offer. The village has grown ever since you last left."

Naruto nodded. "I would like to see it."

55555555555555555

True to Shion's word, the village had turned to the better ever since Naruto was last here. There were many more vendors then last time, there were a dozen new civilian clothing stores and at least 2 theaters were built. There was even a ninja shop, which surprised Naruto greatly. Turning to Shion, he asked her about this.

"Shion, I have noticed that there was a ninja store a couple of stores back. Care to enlighten me?"

"After you guys left, there was an order for a new store in the village, Shion started. Naturally, we thought that the store was going to sell civilian merchandise, but when the store open with kunai, shuriken and all different kinds of swords as the stock, we figured the owner was looking to make at least some ninja in Oni No Kuni. I agreed with him and ever since then, we have been training a small force of ninja in our village."

Naruto was surprised, to say the least. He then asked, "How many ninja do you have in your ranks?"

Shion shook her head. "Not much. At best, five to twenty are ninja hopefuls, while another fifty have shown promise. But they barely have next to any chakra. That's why I increased the guards around the palace until we could get a suitable ninja to train them in the basics."

Naruto smiled. This was a perfect opportunity to help Shion. "You know, I could train those people. Even if they have next to no chakra, I could teach them the basic jutsu, like the Henge, the Bushin jutsu and the Kawarimi. They should be good enough to learn the basics."

Shion turned to Naruto. She had a smile plastered on her face. "Would you really teach them?"

Naruto nodded. "Anything to protect my lady from those who wish to kill her."

Shion jumped and hugged Naruto. "Thank you, thank you. With your help, we should be able to defend ourselves greatly."

Naruto blushed. Naruto only received a hug once before and that was from Haruno Sakura. But if he was to say that hugs didn't help him feel loved, he'd be classified an idiot. So doing what was natural in a hug, he wrapped his arms around her frame. His gentleman side liked how her hair smelled like fresh roses. His perverted side liked how her breasts felt, even though both were clothed. 'Must rein in perverted side,' he kept on thinking.

All too soon, Shion broke the hug and smiled. "I thank you once again for your help, Naruto-kun."

"Shion-chan, you've always had my help, even when I had left and went back to Konoha."

"I know, Shion replied. I just never imagined what sort of impact you would have in my life and in this village. If only I had known you earlier, I wouldn't have acted like a bitch to you."

Naruto dismissed her with a wave. "Trust me Shion. I know you had your reasons. After Taruho told me why, I could understand you. But didn't mean that I was going to make you live the same life that I lived. Don't forget that I never go back on my word. That is my nindo, for now and forever."

Shion smiled. 'Naruto really does have a heart of gold.' It's amazing that no girl has pursued him because of his gentleness and heart.

'_Also his looks aren't too bad to boot,' her consciousness pointed out._

'So now you decide to come out, Shion told her consciousness. I really needed your help back at the inn.'

'_You handled yourself pretty well in my opinion. So, have you sorted out your feelings for the spiky?'_

Shion shook her head. 'I really don't know how I feel about Naruto. I mean, I know he promised to help me with the nest line of priestesses, but I never though of actually doing the deed with him.'

'_Fate has a way of putting things and making things fit in a natural order. Of course, knowing Naruto, he doesn't believe in fate.'_

Shion smiled. 'I kinda figured that out after he was able to avoid my prophecy of him dying.'

'_I know right. Anyway, I think it's time I took a little break. Bye._

Shion sighed. Her consciousness was really starting to piss her off.

"Hey Shion, Naruto said, interrupting her from her thoughts. Among the people who had decided to become ninja, are there any that really stand out?"

Shion thought for a moment. "Well there is this one girl, named **Amarante. **She shows promise and has a massive amount of chakra. But she has no control whatsoever."

Naruto smiled. 'She's just like me' "what's her background?"

"Her parents died during the first time Moryo had to be sealed, Shion explained. As best as we know, she has shown a skill for wind, since whenever she is lonely, the winds pick and envelope her in a shield like closure."

Naruto nodded. "I would like to meet Amarante."

Shion shrugged. "She lives in an orphanage not too far from here. Follow me."

5555555555555555

Amarante was never really expecting anyone to come visit her. Sure, she had the occasional visit from Lady Shion about ninja business, but other then that, she had no visitors. So it came as a surprise to her when the owner of the orphanage came into her room and said that the Priestess was here with someone else. Getting out of her bed and putting on her sandals, she marched down to the lobby.

Lady Shion was currently talking to the owner while a stoic blonde man stood beside her. Amarante wondered who this could be. Deciding she would ask later, Amarante bowed to Shion.

"Lady Shion, to what do I owe this great pleasure?"

"First, you can stand up since you know I hate it when you bow, Shion retorted, though it was all for good fun. Secondly, I would like to introduce you to Uzumaki Naruto, former Genin of Konoha and the container of the Kyubi no Kitsune."

Amarante gasped. She had heard of the young blonde's exploits. 'What could he be doing here?'

Seeing the shocked look on Amarante's face, Naruto stepped forward. "I see you've heard about me, young Amarante. I have also learned some things about you."

Amarante found her voice again. "What exactly have you learned about me?"

"For one, you are an orphan, just like me. Two, you joined the shinobi ranks in this village. You are actually setting yourself on a good path. Three, you know wind jutsu, or you have an inkling to be a wind user."

Amarante hung her head. "I guess I do that subconsciously. The wind feels nice and it keeps me warm. It almost feels like I am wanted by something."

"Now don't be getting all sad on me here, Naruto said. I just want you to know that I will be helping you, along with the others, in becoming shinobi. I have also heard that you need help in your control."

Amarante became astounded. 'He wants to train me?'

She then asked, "Why would you want to train me? I have so many problems next to my control."

"that's where I come in. in addition to the regular training that everyone else will receive, you and I will be training together to improve your skills." Naruto said all this while a smile started to form. 'It's all for the best. Amarante, I promise you that I will become both your sensei and your friend.'

Naruto then continued. "In about a week, Shion-chan is assembling all the shinobi hopefuls and I'm going to be running them through some drills and basic academy jutsu. Don't be late now, Amarante."

Amarante then bowed her head. "Of course, Naruto-sensei."

Naruto nodded again. Turning on his heel, he said to Amarante, "See you soon, my immortal flower."

And with a wave and a flurry, Naruto walked out of the orphanage. Shion sighed, waved goodbye to Amarante and chased after Naruto.

55555555555

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't say anything back there," Naruto said to Shion when she was able to catch up to him.

"That would have been counter-productive to getting the general message through," Shion retorted.

Naruto shrugged. "So what are you doing for the rest of the day?"

"Nothing much, other then meetings with several nearby villages. Say, what would you say to a date with me?" Shion had been saying this and watched in amusement as Naruto started turning beet red.

"Really, I wouldn't want to impose…"

Shion grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt. "You will go on a date with me. You will enjoy said date and you will wear something formal and nice. If you don't agree with any of these, I will hurt you so bad that not even the Kyubi will be able to save you. Do I make myself clear, Uzumaki?"

Naruto gulped. "Crystal ma'am."

Shion then proceeded to pat Naruto on the head, like a dog. "So sweet of you. Pick me up by the time the sun is down." Shion then skipped happily away.

Naruto stood there, with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Only one thing was going through his mind. 'What in the hell did I just get myself into?'

5555555555

**And that is a wrap. So Naruto has become, in a sense, the leader of an entire ninja force. What will come out of his decision? It also seems like Shion is planning to get frisky with Naruto. What will come out of that?**

**Once again, rate and review. Comments are welcome along with criticisms but no flames please.**

**Next Chapter: The Wait is Over; Tsunade Sends Out The Rescue teams.**

**P.S. Amarante means 'the flower that never dies' in the Japanese language. So you can see why Naruto called her his immortal flower. **

**Glossary**

**Henge No Jutsu- Transformation Technique E-Rank Jutsu. **Allows the user to transform into a person. The ninja has to keep a constant stream of chakra into the Henge or the technique will drop.

**Bushin No Jutsu- Clone Technique E-Rank Jutsu. **Allows the user to create illusionary clones. Naruto can not do this jutsu well because of his erratic control.

**Kawarimi No Jutsu- Body Replacement Technique E-Rank Jutsu. **In my opinion, one of the best basic jutsu. Allows the user to replace his/her body with that of a nearby object when said user is hit.

**Poll Time: Should Naruto be made stronger?**

**Yes**

**No**

**If Naruto is made stronger, what should be his new forte?**

**Kenjutsu**

**Second Elemental Jutsu**

**Just give him one SSS-Rank Wind jutsu, along with some minor one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. This upcoming story however, I do own.**

Thanks to all those that reviewed and voted on which new forte Naruto should have. I was kind of surprised with the poll results but nevertheless, I have a story line made up for it.

Now I forgot to mention something about Amarante in the last chapter. She is around 12-13 years old, not 7-8 as one reviewer put it (though that was my fault). I also forgot to describe her from Naruto's point of view. She will be described in the next chapter.

Till then, enjoy this chapter. We're going back to Konoha for this one.

55555555555555555555555555555

_Konohagakure No Sato, Hi No Kuni_

_3 weeks after Naruto's banishment (one week after Naruto arrives in Oni No Kuni)_

Another day had started in Konoha. The entire village was just awakening from a slumber not plagued by bad memories of the Kyubi attack (this for the older generation).

However, in the Hokage's office, one person was already awake. Tsunade Senju sat at her desk, deep in thought. Normally, there would be a pile of paperwork strewn across said desk, but the only thing on the desk was a bottle of empty sake. This would've been a cause of concern for Shizune and Sakura, but this had been going on ever since Naruto was banished.

As she sat, Tsunade was wondering the same thing that had been plaguing her for the last week. The whereabouts of her adopted son, one Uzumaki Naruto. So far, no words have reached her from the many rescue teams that she sent out.

_Flashback 1 week ago_

_Tsunade clasped her hands together, getting a headache by the minute. Assembled before her were Kakashi, Kurenai, Maito Gai and their respective teams. She had called them for an S-rank meeting._

_Tsunade unclasped her hands. "I have called you here for a very important information. Please remain quiet until I have told you what has happened."_

_Tsunade began. "One week ago, a council meeting had been in session. This meeting was kept secret to the rest of Konoha and its ninja. You may have recognized that Naruto is not here, nor has he been seen for the past week."_

_All the people present nodded._

_Tsunade continued. "That is because during that meeting, it was decided by council majority (both ninja and civilian) that Naruto would be banished because of his unleashing of the Kyubi during the Pein invasion."_

_The chunin present all gasped while the jounin present all sighed. This was just like the council (mostly Danzo) to treat Naruto. Even after he had risked his life and his many limbs to save them, the council still decided that he was a liability and banished him. A new question that came into the minds of all those present; what would the repercussions be now that Naruto was gone?_

_Tsunade spoke again, interrupting their thoughts. "However, I have called you three today to mount a rescue operation. You are to retrieve Naruto from wherever he went and bring him back here."_

_Now all the shinobi present went wide-eyed. Kurenai spoke first. "But Hokage-sama, wouldn't that go against the decision from the council?"_

"_Yes, Tsunade replied, completely oblivious to the fact that she had been interrupted. But damn the council and damn their decisions. I don't care what they say. But since I already used my yearly veto, I couldn't veto the decision by the council and something tells me they knew it to."_

_Gay spoke next. "So what are we going to do if we find Naruto, Hokage?"_

"_Bring him back here, she replied. Shizune and I will do our best to change his appearance and give him fake documents. The council can't say anything to that."_

_Kakashi then spoke. "So where would you like us to search?"_

"_Kakashi's team will search in the vicinity around Sunagakure and its villages. Gai, your team will head to Nami No Kuni and ask around. Kurenai will head to __**Tori No Kuni **__and ask around there. You all must report in one weeks' time."_

_All nodded their heads._

_Tsunade turned around in her chair, so that her back was facing the shinobi. With one word that would change the lives of so many, she said "dismissed."_

Flashback ends

Tsunade pinched her nose. So far, only Gai's team and Kurenai's team had reported back. Each one had said that Naruto had not gone their nor was he seen or even heard from ever since both villages last saw him.

'Where are you, nii-san?' Tsunade kept wondering this ever since the reports came back in. it was hard for Tsunade to admit, but she missed the young knucklehead more then anything right now, Sitting up straight in her chair, Tsunade put on her Hokage voice.

"Enter."

The door opened, revealing Haruno Sakura. The second apprentice of the slug queen had grown quite nicely (that is, in training) in the 3 weeks since Naruto was banished. Oddly enough, Sakura was one of the few ninja who did not know of Naruto's banishment, the other being the ANBU ninjas and the current group of genin.

Tsunade was mildly surprised to see her apprentice. As far as Tsunade knew, Sakura was not scheduled for any appointments with her nor was today a training day. Keeping a straight face, Tsunade decided to amuse herself for a couple of minutes.

"Sakura, shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

"Shizune gave me the day off for today, replied Sakura. I was kind of wondering where Naruto was, Tsunade-sensei."

Tsunade sighed. How did she know that Sakura would ask that question? Konohamaru had asked that question the first day that Naruto was banished. Luckily, the Third Hokage's grandson was dumb enough to be convinced that Naruto had gone out on a mission and would be returning soon. Unfortunately, that same excuse would not work on Sakura multiple times. Sooner or later, Sakura would ask why she wasn't sent along with Naruto to these missions. Tsunade needed a better excuse this time.

"Naruto has…gone on vacation Sakura." Once Tsunade had said that, she immediately smacked herself in the face. 'No one in their right mind would believe that lie. Damnit, I knew I should've not drunken sake last night.'

Of course, Sakura picked it up easily. "Sensei, you know me better then that. You know I'm smarter. So where is Naruto?"

'Guess I got to let the cat out of the bag sooner or later. Now I know what Tora feels like every single day.'

Before Tsunade had a chance to answer, there was another knock on the door. Praying to Kami for getting her out of answering Sakura, Tsunade spoke in the direction of the door.

"You may enter."

The door opened, revealing Kakashi, Chouji, Shikamaru and Ino. Each one looked a little under the weather, but Tsunade as expecting that. After all, it took 3 days to get from Konoha to Suna and three days to get back from Suna to Konoha. So in reality, the team had one good day of rest.

What do you have to report?"

Normally, the other two teams had verbally told of their reports, but since Sakura was not made aware of Naruto's banishment, it posed a problem if Kakashi were to tell Tsunade. Fortunately, Gaara had more things to say other then if Naruto was there, so he decided to write it out on a scroll, which Kakashi handed to Tsunade.

"Thank you Kakashi. As of right now, you and your team have a day of R&R. you are to report to the Tower tomorrow morning with Teams Kurenai and Gai. Dismissed."

With a bow, Kakashi disappeared, leaving Tsunade with 4 chunin in her office. Seeing that there was more to be said, Tsunade turned to Shikamaru.

"Was there something else that was not in the report, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Other then the fact that this was a troublesome mission, everything is in the report, Hokage."

Tsunade nodded her head. "Then I'll say it again. Your team is dismissed and don't forget about the meeting tomorrow."

Shikamaru nodded and left. Chouji, eating a bag of chips, left with Shikamaru. Ino, however, stayed behind with Sakura and Tsunade. Tsunade noticed this and was wondering why.

"Hokage-sama, may I talk to Sakura for a little bit?" Ino asked.

"Why would you want to talk to Sakura, Ino?" Tsunade wondered.

Ino shrugged. "Just to catch up."

Tsunade sighed. "Fine then go. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

Both of them turned to the door and started waking. While Sakura had her face forward, Ino turned her head back to Tsunade and mouthed some words.

To the naked eye, it looked like a couple of words stringed together. But Tsunade got the message. Ino had just mouthed, 'should I tell her?'

Tsunade nodded her head. Ino gave a thumbs up and walked out. Tsunade then reached into her secret drawer and picked out another bottle of sake. 'This is going to be one long day,' she thought. Kami would have agreed with her.

"So Ino, how was your mission, Sakura asked. Where exactly did you guys go?"

"Kakashi and our team went to Suna, Ino replied. Things are pretty much normal there ever since the Akatsuki attack."

Sakura nodded, but Ino could tell that Sakura had a lot more questions then that one. It surprised her that Sakura hadn't asked if she knew where Naruto was right off the bat.

"So Ino, do you know where Naruto is?"

And there went the question.

Ino sighed. "Before I tell you, let's go get some breakfast. I'm sure there is something around here that does serve breakfast."

"Ok." Sakura was now getting worried. It wasn't like Ino to try and stall for time. Normally, Ino would blurt everything and anything, even if it was not all that important. Just shaking her head, Sakura followed Ino into a small restaurant.

After they had sat down and placed their orders, there was an uncomfortable silence at the table. Seeing that Ino would not start, Sakura decided to break the ice.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind Ino, she said. Penny for your thoughts?"

Ino shrugged. "Yeah give me some time. I have a lot to discuss with you."

"So I'm surprised that Kakashi is your new sensei, Sakura stated. I thought you guys would be able to handle yourselves."

Ino shook her head. "Even Shikamaru knew that once Kakashi volunteered to be our sensei for the two immortal Akatsuki, Tsunade would put him on our team since you need a jounin instructor. Course, Kakashi just sits and reads his book while we train."

"Must suck pretty bad that you have the lazy jounin as your sensei," Sakura pointed out.

Ino giggled. "most of the times it does, but he explained that since we were chunin and actually did really well, he had nothing to teach us, next to making us stamina freaks like Naruto."

Once Ino had said that, the atmosphere of the conversation went from sunny to cloudy. Both of the ladies there knew what would happen. Only one knew of the outcome of the upcoming conversation.

"Ino, Sakura started. Do you know where Naruto is?"

"Not exactly," Ino replied.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean not exactly?"

Ino put her elbows on the table. "If I tell you this, you have to promise that you won't speak of this to anyone else."

"Ino why would I…"

Ino help up her hand. "Promise me Sakura."

Sakura nodded her head. "I promise Ino."

"Alright strap yourself in. this going to take awhile." Right when Ino finished, the food arrived. Ino had just gotten six slices of toast and some jelly. Sakura, for whatever reason that escaped Ino, had ordered ramen. As they were eating, Ino started.

"What exactly has Lady Tsunade told you about Naruto?"

"She said that she had sent Naruto on some missions," Sakura replied.

Ino was a little confused. "This didn't surprise you?"

"Well at first it did, but I knew that Naruto could take care of himself." Sakura realized how much she was played. 'I thought I was smarter then this.'

"Well anyway, Ino continued, it's more then just him being sent on missions."

"What are you talking about, Ino-pig?"

"Naruto was banished three weeks ago, Sakura."

Sakura, who was about to take another couple of noodles from her ramen, immediately stopped. 'Naruto…banished?' Sakura could not wrap her mind around the concept. It was like a bad nightmare that came into her life. Sakura gulped and looked at Ino.

"You…can't be serious right? I mean, that sounds absolutely ridiculous after what Naruto went through."

Ino put her hands on her face. "That's what I thought to. It actually took a lot of convincing from Lady Tsunade to finally make me see that Naruto was gone. But look Forehead, what I'm saying is that the reason why you haven't seen Naruto is because Naruto is not in the Leaf anymore."

Sakura was still shaking her head. "This is some joke right? Some kind of elaborate joke that you and the entire village cooked up because I had been so bad to Naruto early in his life? Is that it? Well listen here, I'm not buying any of this B.S."

Ino sighed again. Why did this have to be so difficult? Ino had an idea that Sakura would take it hard, but she never imagined it would be this hard. She was outright denying that Naruto was gone, even though Sakura herself had not seen Naruto for the weeks since Pein's invasion. Finishing the last of her toast, Ino stood up and paid for her breakfast.

"Well if you don't believe me, you can ask Lady Tsunade. It's nice to see you again, Forehead and take care." With those words, Ino went out of the restaurant, leaving Sakura to her thoughts.

As Ino's words hit home, Sakura knew that some of it was true, but her irrational mind was screaming at her that it was all still a joke, that Naruto was still in the Leaf, probably at some secret training ground that she was not aware of. 'There is only one way that I can find out for real. I have to look at that scroll that Kakashi-sensei gave to Lady Tsunade.' With that in mind, Sakura paid for her stuff and left a very nice tip for the waitress.

_Midnight, Hokage's office_

Tsunade had gotten her paperwork finished and decided to go home for the evening. 'It's going to be nice to sleep on my bed and not on a desk, Tsunade thought. Before I go, I got to get something.' She reached into her secret stash and got out another bottle of sake. With a smile and a shut of the lights, Tsunade shushined out of her office.

Little did Tsunade know, there was another person inside the office. Had Tsunade been more cautious, she would've activated the traps in the office. But once again, in her haste to sleep on a bed, Tsunade had forgotten all those things.

Sakura stepped out from the bookcase, patting herself on the back that she had learned the invisibility jutsu from Jiraya before he had died.

'Alright, I have to find that scroll. Then I can find out if Ino was lying or not.' Sakura first started out at the Hokage's desk, since that was the most obvious place to put said scroll. But after searching for several minutes, she stepped back frustrated. 'Okay maybe not,' Sakura thought. The bookcase was her next option, but that proved to be fruitless as well. Exasperated and on the verge of punching through walls, Sakura then searched around the room. After yielding no results, she tapped her foot on the floor, only to find out that there was a hollow spot. Peeling back the wood, she found the scroll along with about ninety pounds of sake bottles and jugs. 'Now I see how she gets all her sake, Sakura thought.' Putting the piece of wood back, she opened the scroll and read its contents.

_To the Godaime Hokage,_

_It was a surprise to see some of your ninja at my gates. After Kakashi had explained, I can understand why you want this back. However, I am deeply sorry to inform you that Naruto is not here nor has he been spotted near any of the villages around Suna. However, a rumor has been floating around that Naruto was heading toward the south, possibly to Haru No Kuni. I'll inform you of any change in developments._

_Garra, The Godaime Kazekage_

_P.S.: tell the councilors that they are a bunch of idiots._

Sakura dropped the scroll and covered her mouth. As she laid her back against the desk, images of her and Naruto started to come up. All the times that she had hit him and belittled him came back full force, making Sakura start to cry.

'Oh Naruto, she thought. Why? Why did this have to happen to you?' as she continued to cry, she finally figured out that she needed Naruto, that she needed the strong supporting shoulder that Naruto gave to her.

It was known that the words that were never said hurt more then the words that were said.

**Phew. That was nice of me, ending the chapter with a cliché. **

**Anyway, read and review and once again, thanks to all who did vote and who at least read the last chapter.**

**P.S.: the poll from chapter 2 will end at the next chapter's end.**

**Ciao and see you next time on 'It's More Then Just A Promise.'**

**Tori No Kuni-Land of Birds**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. This upcoming story however, I do own.**

Thanks to all those that reviewed. The last chapter was mostly a filler. The chapter gave you small glimpse of what was happening in Konoha ever since Naruto was banished.

Now on another side note, you may have noticed I have made Naruto and the characters a little bit older, in the sense that they act older then they should. I think they should act older, since everyone there got a taste of their village being destroyed in one move. So these characters will act older then their age is.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I personally will.

* * *

_Oni No Kuni (one week after Naruto's arrival)_

Sundown had arrived on the village and everyone was getting ready to go to bed. The shops were turning off their lights, the vendors were packing up their belongings, and the parents had ushered their children in. most of the villagers were gonna have a good sleep tonight.

In the temple, Priestess Shion sighed. She had just gotten out of her mountain loads of paperwork that, even though was short compared to the Hokage's paperwork, was still big enough to give Shion a Tsunade-like headache. She was very lucky that she was not an alcoholic like Tsunade or she would have passed out on the desk just like her.

Getting her mind off the depressing and political stuff, Shion then went to her thoughts on the blonde fox staying at the temple. Shion blushed. Ever since their first date, Shion and Naruto had been the talk of the village. Grinning, Shion then went to La La Land, remembering that day that would be imprinted in her mind for all eternity.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Shion smoothed out her kimono and looked at her designer once again._

"_You know, Shion started. If I thought you would freak out this much about a date, I would've reiterated the fact that Naruto and I are just friends."_

_Her designer, her longtime friend __**Emiko, **__looked at her weirdly. "Shion, you know most relationships that last for a long time come from two people who are 'just friends.'_

_Shion shook her head. "But Naruto and I are just that. You shouldn't be making up stories Emiko."_

"_Oh please, don't tell me you're not attracted to the hot foxy man. I've seen you zone out when he did his run without a shirt on."Emiko said this and watched in satisfaction when Shion's face went red. _

_To her credit, Shion remembered the one time she saw Naruto doing his runs. It had been about two hours since he made it Oni No Kuni. Shion had just finished her paperwork and walked out of her office, which was near the top of the temple. Gazing out from an open spot in the temple walls, Shion could see the vast forests that surrounded her home and the village she ruled. Sometimes, ruling was a true bliss._

_Shion was bought out of her thoughts when she heard some heavy breathing. Looking down, she saw Naruto running back into the village. 'Running before a date?' she thought. Shion was also treated to a sight that was, to say the least, incredibly hot and sexy._

_Naruto was shirtless and Shion got a full view of his chest, stomach and shoulder area._

_Naruto was not overly muscular nor was he scrawny. He was somewhere in between. He of course supported a six-pack and Shion could see his tan skin. The sweat coming from his body only highlighted his powerful physique and his blue eyes were filled with determination. His arms were not overly muscular but Shion kind of liked it. _

_Shion started noticing that a little droplet of blood was coming from her nose and her lower body was feeling incredibly hot. Moaning just a little, she rubbed her thighs together, hoping to calm down the fire inside her. But the action only caused the fire to burn even hotter. If Shion had not torn her view away from the opening, Shion knew she would've gone to her messenger, demanded to have Naruto come up to her temple and then ravage him when he arrived._

_Taking deep and calming breaths, Shion went back inside her room. 'I guess a shower will do the trick.'_

"_Shion, Shion, Emiko was saying, waving a hand in front of her best friends face. Yoo hoo, you there?" Emiko was getting worried. This was so unlike Shion to be caught up on daydreaming. Knowing that it would be hard to knock her out of her daydreams the conventional way, Emiko went out of the room, grabbed the megaphone that Shion kept hidden from everyone else (except her), turned the volume on high and shouted._

"_SHION."_

_Shion turned to Emiko and looked at her with dreamy eyes and said "oh hello, Naruto, nice to see you today."_

"_NARUTO?" Emiko shouted into the megaphone. "SHION, IT'S ME EMIKO."_

_This went on for another five minutes before Emiko had enough and decided to lay a smack to Shion's face. Let's just say the smack and the argument that followed was heard by all the guards in the palace. However, the guards knew better then to interrupt them and went back to their duties._

_Naruto was nervous. Hell, he was fidgeting like there was no tomorrow. His hands kept going to the tie that he bought after his run. _

'_Well, I always wanted to go on a date with one of my precious people, he thought. I just always thought it would be Sakura and not Shion. Needless to say, I better not screw this up.'_

_Naruto took some calm breaths, checked his appearance one last time in the mirror, grabbed his frog wallet and went out of the door of his hotel room._

_As Naruto walked to the temple, his eyes took notice of the village. Most of the roadside vendors were already packed up for the coming night. Some restaurants had now switched to their dinner menus. As Naruto looked at the restaurants, he wondered which one he would take Shion to. Glancing at his frog wallet, Naruto saw that had had tons of money and could take Shion to one of the more fancy restaurants in the village._

_As Naruto approached the temple, he could see at least twenty guards posted in front of the temple. Course, all the guards present knew about the date, so they let Naruto in. when Naruto was climbing the stairs, one of the guards leaned in and started speaking with another guard._

"_I wonder how long it's going to take before they start making babies."_

_The second guard snickered. "Put it this way. I say before the end of the month. Want to place some bets?"_

_The first guard smiled. "Let's ask Goro if he wants to join."_

_Naruto had just entered the throne room and looked around for the Priestess. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he shouted "Shion?"_

"_Hold on, came Shion's voice. I'll be out in like five minutes."_

"_Ok," Naruto replied. Naruto looked around the temple room. To Naruto, it looked like it doubled as both a bedroom and an office. There was a desk in the upper right corner and Naruto could see some rolled up scrolls and a stamp. There was a bed in the far left corner of the room. Naruto could see a bunch of stuff animals but what surprised him was that there was a huge stuffed fox right on her bed._

'_Coincidence,' he thought._

"_Naruto, you ready to go?"_

_Naruto turned to Shion and was about to answer when his brain just stopped. There, standing near the bathroom door, was Shion. She had a deep purple kimono that hugged her entire frame. A diamond necklace was around her neck and she was wearing a purple bracelet on her right wrist. She had on the same black eyeliner that she had when she came to visit him in his hotel earlier and she also had on purple sandals._

_Naruto's eyes nearly flew out of his head. 'Hot damn, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all, Naruto thought. Maybe starting a life here would be beneficial.'_

"_Naruto, I said are you ready?" Shion asked and giggled inside. Emiko was right, this was a knockout kimono. Shion had only worn this once and that was at a monthly festival. _

_Naruto shook his head. "Yeah I'm ready. My brain had to just catch up to me. You look absolutely breathtaking, Shion."_

_Shion blushed at the comment. "You look quite handsome, Naruto." Indeed Naruto was looking quite sharp. Knowing that his regular clothes wouldn't do the trick, Naruto had gone to a clothes store and bought a deep blue collar shirt with orange flames on them. His deep blue pants with the same flame color made him look like he was fire hot. His blonde hair was always the same and he wore black shoes with a silver flame on them. All in all, the new look that Naruto had on was both dashing and sexy all at once._

_Shion wiped the blood that came from her nose. 'Damn, in just several hours, he made me lose more blood then I have ever lost in several years.'_

"_So you ready to go," Naruto wondered._

_Shion nodded. "Let's get this show on the road. I have this incredible sushi restaurant you have to try out."_

_Naruto got this sick look on his face. "Sushi, Shion? Why not a ramen stand?"_

_Shion laughed. "Naruto, you have got to try something else. Sure ramen is good, but if you just eat ramen, you won't get to enjoy other foods."_

_Naruto sighed. "Fine, for you and only you, I'll try your sushi place. This better be better then ramen." 'Though nothing could be better then ramen,' he thought._

_Shion smiled. "Trust me Naruto, this place will knock you off your feet."_

_Taking the initiative, Shion held out her hand. Seeing where she was going, Naruto held out his hand and took Shion's hand. Turning toward the palace doors, the two started out to the sushi restaurant, both not aware of the danger that was going to come in the next._

_The date was fantastic in Shion's opinion. Naruto was the perfect host. When they had arrived, they found the place full. Shion thought there would be no room for them but since Shion was the ruler of Oni No Kuni, the waiters were able to find a table for the two of them._

_After getting their seats and placing their orders, Shion started out by asking Naruto about what he did during his training trip. Naruto smiled and began his tale. Shion listened intently on his tales, gasping at the parts that were supposed to be gasped at, laughing at those she thought were funny, and asking questions when appropriate. Naruto had to stop in the middle of his story when the food arrived. The food proved to be very good to Naruto and he chalked this restaurant down for future visits. When they were finished, Naruto paid for the bill, despite the insistent voice behind him. _

_Naruto was lucky to cast a kage bushin before paying for the bill._

_As they left the restaurant, Naruto noticed that is was still early for him to take Shion back to the palace. Looking around quickly, Naruto spotted a small prize/game store. Quickly taking Shion's hand, he led her inside the shop._

_Shion smiled, hugging the big stuffed panda. Naruto had won her more then enough prizes to keep her happy for months._

_Unfortunately, it was getting really late and Naruto had decided to walk Shion back to the temple. As they walked, Naruto had started to talk about his last half of his training trip. Shion was surprised by the amount of places that Naruto and Jiraya. 'It looks like he met a lot of people and made a lot of friends,' she thought._

_When they reached the temple, they saw about ten to fifteen guards. All the guards saluted Shion and nodded their heads at Naruto. As the two climbed the stairs, the same two guards from earlier started talking to one another._

"_So, how'd you think the date went?" this was the first guard._

_The second guard answered with a smile. "Seeing how tight the Priestess was holding the panda, I'd say at least an 11._

_The first guard snickered. "Forget it being until the end of the month. I'd say about two weeks before we start hearing moans and screams."_

_The second guard shook his head. "Nah three weeks at the earliest, two months by the latest."_

_The first guard had an evil smile on his face. "Wanna bet?"_

_The second guard also smiled evilly. "You're on."_

_Naruto and Shion and just reached the palace doors. As the two turned to stare at each other, Shion put the panda down and grasped Naruto's hands._

"_I ca honestly say that this was the best date that I have ever had, bar none," Shion said, smiling._

_Naruto smiled as well. "Even though this was my first date, I was glad to have shared it with you, my Priestess."_

_Shion blushed. "You did really well for your first date, Naruto."_

_Naruto smiled. "Trust me when I say this Shion-chan, that there are more dates like these to come."_

_As the two stared each other, blue eyes met with beautiful amethyst. Immediately, both of their faces started moving toward each other. Eyes closed, lips slightly apart, you could tell what was going to happen._

_When Shion's lips met Naruto's, it was like a fireworks show went off in her head. Gasping at the amount of feeling flowing through her, Shion moved her head to the side so that their noses were not touching. _

_Naruto was not faring any better. He was hit with the same amount of emotions and feelings. Naruto had been going with instinct ever since their lips met. When Shion moved her head, Naruto pressed forward, forcing Shion's head into a small dip. He then nibbled on her bottom lip, making Shion gasp and slightly open her lips. Naruto took the initiative and snaked his tongue into Shion's mouth. She tasted like fine honey and Naruto could not get enough of her._

_Shion was not to be outdone, however. She started to trace his muscles that were concealed beneath his shirt, making Naruto groan. They had forced his tongue out of her mouth and Shion then did the same with Naruto. He tasted like ramen (no surprise) but Shion was surprised that she liked the taste. She wanted more, she needed more and by Kami she would get more._

_Unfortunately, both needed to breathe. When their mouths finally departed, both opened their eyes and were surprised to see the fire, the intensity of their feelings toward the other. Naruto was the first to break the silence._

"_Wow, he exclaimed. Just wow."_

_Despite the situation, Shion giggled just a little. "I could say the very same thing, my hero."_

_Naruto smiled. "I think I would enjoy some more dates and some more kisses, Shi-Chan."_

_Shion smiled as well. 'I think I might like his little nickname.' "Likewise Naruto, likewise."_

_They then parted ways, each one knowing that their lives had just gotten a whole lot better._

_When Shion got to her room, she locked the doors and put a hand over her heart. Her heart was beating like a jackhammer ever since Naruto had kissed her._

'_My god my god my god,' Shion kept thinking. Shion couldn't believe it. One kiss and her heart was about to fly out of her chest. She immediately walked to her bed and hugged the stuffed fox._

'_He is my Naruto-Kun, and I am not giving him up for anything.' Shion went to bed shortly after, and her dreams were filled with her and Naruto together, forever._

_End Flashback (finally)_

_

* * *

_

Shion smiled. That was one of her best days. Shion still got shivers thinking about it. She was so close to Naruto, so close to his heartbeat, that Shion knew if Naruto had not turned away, she would've done the deed with him that very night.

Glancing up at her clock, she found that she had daydreamed too long. She had only an hour left till Naruto showed to take her to her second date. Cursing herself for the walk down memory lane, she left whatever remained of the paperwork on her desk and went into her closet.

Sometimes, relationships come first before duty.

* * *

Naruto sneezed yet again. Wiping his snot on a tissue paper, he shook his head.

'God what I would do to find the person who is talking about me, he thought. This is the fourth sneeze in a row.'

If your wondering what Naruto was doing, he had just finished training the ninja hopefuls and Amarante in ninja training. Most of the hopefuls had just enough chakra to perform the basic jutsus, but Naruto knew that these people would not stand long in a real ninja fight.

However, there were five others, not including Amarante, that had a huge amount of chakra. Naruto wasn't actually sure where they got their chakra from, but he wasn't exactly complaining. However, because of their huge chakras, it took them longer then the rest to learn the basic jutsu and even longer to do the normal chakra exercises (they trained for the whole day, mind you). Naruto knew he would have to train all six of these people together.

Glancing at a nearby clock store, he found out he had only an hour to prepare for his date. Naruto smiled, remembering what had happened after the kiss.

'My god, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The kiss was out of this world.' He shook his head. It was nice to dwell on the past, but he needed to get ready in order to look presentable for his second date.

Since he had gone all out on his first date, Naruto went back to a more casual clothing approach. An orange button-up shirt, black jeans and white shoes adorned his body. Taking a glance at the mirror, he had only one thought.

'Damn, I actually like civilian clothing.'

He reached for his frog wallet, but remembered the last time he paid for the date. Shaking his head, Naruto grabbed a pair of black fingerless gloves from the nightstand and went out the door.

It took less time for Naruto to get to Shion's room from his hotel room. When he got there, he found out Shion was still getting ready. Spotting a bookcase right next to her bed, he walked over and inspected the books. Most were about boring politician stuff and romance novels, but one book caught Naruto's eyes.

'Sword Arts: The Basics,' he read in his mind. Reaching out he grabbed the book, thumbed through several pages and nodded his head. 'This might come in handy. I could probably teach Amarante on kenjutsu.'

"Naruto, I'm ready."

Said man turned his head and was once again struck by Shion's beauty. While Naruto had gone all out on the first date, Shion seemed to have gone all out on this date. A midnight black dress, black high heels and black bracelets adorned her body. Her lips were slightly highlighted by the pinkish lipstick she had. Her long blonde hair was put into a ponytail, which only uncovered her large bust.

Naruto was truly help both speechless and breathless. Shion, in his vision, was not just breathtaking. She was a blond bombshell, a goddess in all name and glory, and Naruto was the luckiest man in the world to be dating her.

Shion then did the most sexually stimulating thing Naruto could think off. She spun around like a ballerina, which caused her breasts to move with her. Naruto also got a nice view of her rear. 'She looks healthy in that area to,' his perverted side thought. Naruto could only nod his head.

Shion smiled evilly. "You like?"

Naruto nodded stupidly. Shion giggled. Naruto looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

She started to walk toward him, swaying her hips to the unseen rhythm of music. Reaching Naruto, she took one finger and wiped the blood coming from his nose.

Shion smiled. "Now Naruto, you don't want to make a mess on my floor, do you?" Naruto did not say anything. Shion was starting to get worried. 'I think I overloaded his brain when I did the spin move,' she thought. She snapped her fingers but got no response from the silent blonde. Shion was truly lost at what to do. Shion then remembered what one Haruno Sakura would do in this kind of situation. Clenching her right hand into a fist, Shion brought the fist down on Naruto's head (though not as bad as Sakura would do).

Naruto didn't know what happened. The last thing he remembered was Shion's voice. The next thing he knew, he felt this very sharp pain on the back of his head. It didn't hurt, but it did wake him up. Naruto then brought his head up and saw Shion in her bombshell dress. She also had her arms folded under her breasts and a frown on her face. 'I must be in some really deep shit for her to have that expression,' he thought. Shaking his head to clear any thoughts, he slapped on a grin and said "Shion, you look absolutely stunning."

Shion smiled. "I kind of figured that when you kept looking at me and had nose coming out of your nose."

Naruto chuckled, nervously scratching his head. "Was I really that bad?"

"You were staring at me for a good ten minutes, she replied. I know I look hot but geez."

Naruto took what she said and made it into (what he hoped) a compliment. "But Shion, you are more then gorgeous. You are more then breathtaking. You are a goddess in every right and word.

Shion, who was about ready to grill him out again, completely stopped. 'He really thinks of me as a goddess?' it was now Shion's turn to be completely speechless. She just couldn't believe that the man standing in front of her was a total ladies dream. 'He will be more then my boyfriend.'

'_Finally caught on didn't you?' _

' Oh, it's you.'

'_Come on, don't give me that. I told you that you would see Naruto as more then just a friend. Now there is only more thing that you two must do.'_

Shion was getting really sick of her consciousness. 'Can you at least rest for one day and not make any sexual innuendos between Naruto and I?'

'_Your such a party-pooper. Where's the fun of being with the blonde fox if I can't envision you two together in bed? Anyway, your no fun. See ya.'_

'Good riddance, Shion thought. It's bad enough I have a pervert of a boyfriend but I also have a sexually frustrated consciousness to. My life gets no easier.'

With that little distraction out of the way, Shion focused on Naruto. "Well come on, we have to get on our way. I'm sure there are still a few shops and restaurants open."

Naruto smiled and help out his hand. "Well what are we waiting for, my lady? I'm sure you know of a particular restaurant that is till open."

Shion took his hand and smiled as well. "Why yes Naruto. I know the exact restaurant."

* * *

The date turned out to be really spectacular. Even though most of the restaurants had closed for the evening, the two were able to find a small ramen stand. After both had taken their seats, Naruto had ordered one bowl (gasp) of ramen with everything. Shion had gotten shrimp ramen. As the two were waiting for their food, Naruto started a conversation.

"So how was your day Shion," Naruto wondered?

"Incredibly boring, she replied. I swear, I never thought ruling was going to be so boring like all the time."

"Well Shion, if you don't rule, who will?" Naruto had asked this but he knew what the answer would be.

Shion sighed. "I would gladly give my title up in order to spend some more time with you."

Naruto stared at her. "Shion, we see each other every day ever since our first date."

Shion shifted in her seat. "You know what I mean, Naruto."

Seeing that Shion was getting nervous, Naruto decided to change topics. "So would you like to discuss anything, Shion?"

Shion nodded, silently thanking Naruto for being kind. "How's the training of the hopefuls going?"

"Better then I thought it would, Naruto replied. Most of the hopefuls have shown really good chakra control, though I would like to ask about Amarante and five others."

"Who would you like to know about?" Shion was now puzzled. Far as she knew, only Amarante had shown an enormous amount of chakra.

Naruto reached into his breast pocket and pulled five pictures. Laying them down on the table, he pointed at the far left one.

Shion examined the photo. It showed a young girl, around Amarante's age. She had deep blue hair and deep blue eyes. Her hair reached the top of her spine. In the photo, she was eating an ice cream and talking to someone. The girl was wearing a blue V-top shirt and had on shorts. Blue sandals adorned her feet. She had on no accessories. "Her name is **Mayumi. **She lives with both parents. Her father is a blacksmith in the town while her mother does acting. She had always to be a ninja and has asked several times. Looks like her parents finally caved in."

Naruto nodded and pointed to the next photo. The girl was the same age as Amarante and Mayumi. She had red hair that was shoulder length and had red eyes. She was wearing a blood red battle kimono. In the picture, she was holding a sword and inspecting it. She also wore red sandals. "Her name is **Ayaka. **She lives with her father since her mother died when she was five. Her father owns one of the civilian clothing stores. Her being a ninja is a new thing."

Naruto's finger then went to the middle photo. The girl in question looked a year younger then the other three. Her golden hair was tied in a bun and she was wearing a bright yellow tank top and blue jeans. She had on yellow sandals and in the photo, she was in a battle stance, practicing against a wooden dummy. "Her name is **Natsuki. **She lives with her mother. I do not know what happened to her father. Her mother owns one of the new theaters. She was actually encouraged by her mother to be a ninja."

The fourth photo showed a girl, same age as Natsuki. Her hair was brown and she had deep chocolate colored eyes. Her attire consisted of a black tank top and brown khakis. She was shoeless and in the photo, she was helping someone with the groceries. "This is **Rei. **She lives with her grandparents. Her mother and father were both ninja for Konoha but both died on a mission. She always wanted to follow her parent's footsteps.

The last photo showed another girl, same age as the previous two. From the look of the photo, Shion could see that this child was homeless. Her dark green hair was dirty and her emerald eyes showed no hope whatsoever. The child wore mismatched clothing and her feet were open to the earth. "This is **Sayuri. **Both her parents died at an early age and she no living relatives to speak of. For most of her life, she was out on the streets." Shion said this last part with a sigh. This was before the orphanage was built.

Seeing Shion get sad, Naruto picked up all the photos and stuffed them into his breast pocket. Shion looked at him. She was hoping for a reaction to Sayuri, but he didn't give one. 'He must be hiding it,' she thought. "So, why did you want to know about these people, Naruto?"

"Each one has showed an extreme amount of chakra, even more then the average jounin, Naruto answered. I wanted to at least know their names because I'm going to be training them for the next couple of months till they can get the basics and possibly more."

Shion nodded. "Your going to have to be careful with Sayuri and Rei. Both had lost what they cared most for. It might not be easy to train them.

Naruto said nothing. He kind of figured that out first hand. During the tree climbing exercise, Rei had fallen down hard on her first try. When Naruto tried to help her, Rei had brushed him away and continued. Sayuri had just remained quiet and when Naruto would speak with her, she would hang her head low and mutter answers. 'Now I know why,' he thought.

Naruto was roused from his thoughts when the food arrived. It was steaming hot and looked appetizing to Naruto. However, he had to make sure to keep his manners around Shion and that meant no slurping his noodles. With that in mind, he blew on his noodles before eating them. He also ate very slowly, taking his time and actually savoring his noodles.

Shion was flabbergasted. She would've expected Naruto to be happily slurping his noodles. She was not prepared for Naruto to be taking his time and actually eating slow. She smiled on the inside. 'He must be thinking that I won't like him if he ate too fast and was a slob. Thank you for being considerate, Naruto.' After they had both finished, Shion had paid for the meal and they exited the stand.

* * *

Shion and Naruto decided to head back to the temple, since there was nothing else to do. When they reached the doors, Naruto gave Shion a hug and a peck on her cheek. Shion pouted, wanting a flown blown kiss like last time, but Naruto did not budge. Waving goodbye at Shion, Naruto departed for his hotel room. To her credit, Shion smiled, turned around and went through the doors. She was gonna have some pleasant dreams tonight.

* * *

_Midnight_

The air was still and the crickets were singing their music. Inside Oni No Kuni, ten guards were on duty, each dozing off just a little. They were brought to full alert when anything made a sound but nothing appeared.

One of the guards expressed his concerns. "This duty station really sucks."

Before any of the other guards responded to his statement, four kunai suddenly appeared and pierced the throats of four guards. Before the bodies hit the ground, four dark clothed ninja stepped out of the shadows.

One of the guards shouted. "Raise the alarm and…" said guard later found shuriken imbedded into the weak points in this armor. He dropped faster then a sack of potatoes. The leader of the assassin group brought up his right hand and closed it in a fist. The other three split. The leader then took off.

All of the gate guards lay dead on the street, blood seeping out of their wounds.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. 'Another bad dream, he thought. When are these nightmares going to end?'

Still in his sleeping clothes, Naruto made his way to the small fridge in his room. He opened it, took a water bottle from there and chugged it. Suddenly, his nose picked up a smell, a smell Naruto was very familiar with.

'Blood,' he thought. Grabbing a kunai from his weapons pouch, Naruto bolted out of his room and into the dark night.

The scene that greeted Naruto was one out of a horror movie. On the ground lay about fifteen dead bodies, all of them guards. When Naruto looked toward the palace, he could see several guards trying to fight off ninja, but seemed to be failing. Raising his hands into a cross shape, he cried out his signature jutsu.

"_**Kage Bushin No Jutsu."**_

In a cloud of smoke, four Naruto's stood with the original, each holding a kunai. Naruto leaped into the fray, his clones following him.

The assassin's had long sensed Naruto and turned around to face him. Seeing that words were useless, especially with the twenty plus guards lying dead, Naruto's clones engaged the assassins. The real Naruto leaped over the killers and ran into the temple.

It was obvious to Naruto that the target was Shion. He had to get to her room fast. Passing the bodies of four more guards, Naruto busted through the door and saw one last guard defending Shion. He recognized him as the guard who had escorted him on his first day here. Leaping into the battle, Naruto blocked a swipe from the assassin's blade and then kicked him back. Holding his kunai, Naruto turned toward the guard. "Get Shion out of here. I'll be fine." The guard nodded his head, took Shion and went to the secure room.

Naruto then looked back at his opponent. 'Judging by the fact he was able to handle at least ten guards, he is at least jounin rank, maybe even ANBU.' Forming the cross seal again, he created three more clones, each with a kunai. The enemy didn't seem fazed and flashed through hand signs.

"_**Raiton: Gian."**_

Naruto cursed. 'A lightning user?' Naruto jumped out of the way, as did his clones. The jutsu created a scorch mark. 'Damn, I don't know that many wind jutsus,' Naruto thought with a frown. Flashing through some hand sings, he shouted. "_**Fūton: Renkūdan**__**."**_

The assassin jumped out of the way and charged at Naruto. Seeing his charge, Naruto got into his stance. The blows that followed were as fast as Lee's Taijutsu. Naruto sent a kick to the man's chest, which was blocked with his arm. The attacker tried to uppercut him, but Naruto blocked the attempt and sent a haymaker toward the attacker. The haymaker hit but it only caused the assassin to jump back, blaze through hand signs and shout "_**Raiton: Jibashi."**_

One of Naruto's clones took the hit, disappearing in a puff of smoke. The real Naruto winced as the memories returned to him. 'His jutsus are top notch.' Naruto steeled himself. To him, this was going to be a long fight. Naruto blaze through hand signs and clapped his hands together. "_**Fūton: Reppūshō."**_

The amount of power that was generated from the wind jutsu forced the assassin back, minor cuts appearing on his body. The assassin immediately drew out his blade and charged at Naruto. Naruto pulled out his kunai and stopped the blade, though the blade edge was really close to Naruto's heart. They then began a kenjutsu duel. Sparks flew and metal screeched as the two did battle. The assassin, more skilled then Naruto, was able to cut Naruto on the arm and on his chest. Naruto hissed in pain and leapt back. Already the wounds were healing, but Naruto knew he had to end this quick before his other clones were dispelled. Forming the cross seal, Naruto created seven shadow clones. Sending five forward, Naruto called to his other clone and they started making Naruto's second signature jutsu.

The assassin was having a tough time. Not only did he have to keep on eye on the real one, he also had to kill the shadow clones the blond buy was sending. Leaping back from a kunai slash, the assassin flashed through hand signs and cried _**"Raiton: Kangekiha." **_All five Naruto clones were hit with the jutsu and all dispelled. Glancing back at where he thought the blonde was, he saw nothing. What he heard next made him crap in his pants.

"_**Rasengan."**_

When the Rasengan hit, Naruto knew that he had at least killed one of the men. The assassin was sent flying back. He hit the wall with a sickening crunch, slid down the wall and was laid on the floor, unconscious or dead, Naruto didn't know which one. Turning his body to the entrance, Naruto found out that the other three assassins had disappeared. Running to his clones, Naruto took a moment to catch his breath. "What happened?"

The clone shrugged. "We don't know boss. One minute were keeping these guys busy. The next minute, all of them stopped and retreated. Must have been when you killed their leader."

Naruto shook his head. "Let's hope so."

* * *

_Morning_

By the time morning came and the villagers had woken up, most of the bodies of the dead guards had been given a proper burial. The villagers had been informed of the incident and many families of the deceased guards were crying. Had it not been for Naruto, they would have also lost their Priestess. As such, many people came to Naruto, thanking him for saving their lovely ruler.

Naruto, who had been awake ever since the fight had ended, ran his hand over his face. He was tired and the adrenaline had stopped flowing hours ago. He also had to comfort the wives of the dead guards. It was taxing him to the best of his ability. He also reflected on the fight between him and the assassin. It was lucky he had used the Rasengan to end it, otherwise it would have dragged out and he would've faced four instead of one. He reached into his closet and brought out the book he had pilfered from Shion's library.

Thumbing through the pages, he looked at the book. "Maybe I can teach all of us kenjutsu, Naruto muttered. It would be best for me and for the others to have this skill. Opening the book, he began to read the many pages. It would be a long time before Naruto emerged from his hotel room, intent was he to learn a new style of battle.

* * *

**Well this is chapter four. Sorry for the quick battle scene, but this chapter was supposed to only have 5600 words, not 6400+ words. Still though, it was great writing this chapter.**

**Now to all my readers out there, I would like to ask a favor of you. Since I'm not a particularly good drawer, I would like someone to draw me what Naruto looked like on his first date and what Shion looks like on the second date. You don't have to do this, but I would like someone to. If you do, could you send me the link once you're done?**

**P.S. also send me some wind jutsus (original or created), the two that Naruto used I got from a Naruto site. Till then, ciao.**

**Next chapter: Naruto begins training and Sakura's decision.**

**Glossary**

**Emiko-**beautiful blessing child

**Mayumi-** true gentle beauty

**Ayaka-** colorful flower

**Natsuki-** summer hope

**Rei-** lovely

**Sayuri-** small lily

**Kage Bushin No Jutsu-**Shadow Clone Technique

**Raiton: Gian-** Lightning Release: False Darkness

**Fūton: Renkūdan-**Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet

**Raiton: Jibashi-**Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder

**Fūton: Reppūshō-**Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm

**Raiton: Kangekiha-**Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration

**Rasengan-**Spiraling Sphere


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the disclaimer this time. I don't Naruto at all.**

**So without further ado, onto the chapter.**

_Oni No Kuni (twelve hours since the attempted assassination)_

Shion sighed. Things were not going the way she had intended. When the date ended last night, she thought she would be getting a peaceful sleep. Instead, she had been woken up by one of her guards in the middle of the night. She had rubbed her eyes and was about to chew the guard out when a kunai had sailed through the guards right eye.

Time had stopped right then and there.

It took a while for Shion's brain to catch up but once it did, she screamed (what do you expect)? Immediately, five guards rushed up to her and took defensive positions. A sixth guard appeared and took her away, deeper into the palace. As Shion ran with the guard, she heard the assailant call out a jutsu.

She didn't have to turn her head to know that one of the guards had been incinerated.

As she ran into the palace, she could hear the breath of the other guard. They had just turned a corner into her primary room (she was too tired last night so she slept in one of the secondary beds) when the assassin appeared in front of her and her guard. The guard then stepped in front of Shion and pulled out his katana. The assassin smiled and pulled out his katana to. The duel that followed was one where Shion knew the guard was in serious trouble. When the attacker was landing the killing blow, Naruto appeared and stopped the katana with his kunai. Shion couldn't be any more thrilled that Naruto was there. Suddenly the guard scooped her up and took her to the secure room.

It would be hours before the coast was clear.

After the attempt, she had to console the village and told them of the ultimate fate of those guards. The tally for that night was 27 guards dead and about three injured. Those guards were already receiving medical attention, but Shion knew that without Naruto's help, she could've possibly died that night. Those assassins were top notch. Unfortunately, the one that Naruto had severely injured died before he could reach the hospital.

All in all, it was not a good day to be Shion.

Sighing once again, she rose from her seat and walked over to the balcony. The woods around her village had not changed but yet Shion knew that the woods held so much danger and so many people could be hiding there.

She was roused from her viewing when the doors of her palace were opened. Fearing another attack, Shion grabbed the hidden kunai that Naruto gave to her after the attack and threw it at the person. An eep sound made her turn her head and she saw the kunai lodged into the far wall, about three inches away from her messenger's head.

To her credit, the messenger didn't crap his pants but when he spoke to Shion, his voice shook just a little. "ma'am, message from Konoha."

Shion raised her eyebrow. This was totally unexpected. Right now, she wasn't expecting anything from Konoha, ever since Naruto's banishment. Taking the message from him, Shion thanked the man and sent him on his way. Unrolling the scroll, Shion sat down at her desk again, memorizing the contents of what was on said scroll.

* * *

Oni No Kuni's ninja shop didn't get much business. Sure they made enough profit to stay afloat, but other then the occasional request for more kunai and shuriken, the shop didn't really receive any special orders. Hell, for the man behind the counter, it was a very slow day and didn't look like it was going to get busy anytime soon.

That's why it came as a surprise when the man behind the counter heard his bell ring. Looking up from his magazine, he was surprised to find the blond haired boy that was dating their ruler. Clearing his throat, he said "yes, how may I help you?"

To Naruto's credit, he acted like the perfect gentleman that he did on his many dates with Shion. "I was wondering if you have any chakra channeling katanas here."

The man thought about it for a minute. "I don't believe we have any currently in stock but I can place an order for you and it will come in two to three days."

Naruto nodded. "I was also wondering if you have any regular katanas, kodaichis, swords and scythes around."

The man nodded. "Now I know we have some of those in stock. How many would you like?"

"Seven of each," Naruto replied.

The man stopped. "Isn't that a little too much for you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Don't worry. I can pay for all of it. I would also like six kunai and shuriken pouches and sixty kunais and six hundred shuriken."

The shop owner was completely flabbergasted. The amount that the man was buying was nothing short of amazing. Add it all up along with his order of a chakra channeling sword, the price came close to a million ryo. Shaking his head, the man went into the back of the store to get the various items.

Naruto, while the man was getting all the stuff, walked around the store. The place also sold some shinobi clothing, which to Naruto would be useful when he and Amarante, Mayumi, Ayaka, Natsuki, Rei and Sayuri started training. The reason why Naruto wanted to train them was because he had faith in them, just like his old village had faith in him. He had faith that they would succeed and become great ninja. He also had the strange suspicion that they all had some sort of elemental affinity, if their hair color was any indication. Still though, it would be nice to know that their affinity could be.

The store owner returned, prompting Naruto to stop his clothes searching and pay for his items. Then total came close to a million ryo, but Naruto paid for it like it was a normal occurrence. Naruto then left the store while the store owner had anime tears falling out of his eyes. The owner was going to have a healthy dinner tonight.

* * *

_Forest, several miles from Oni No Kuni_

In a clearing, Amarante, Mayumi, Ayaka, Natsuki, Rei and Sayuri were all standing. Each had been called by their guardians (or in Sayuri's and Amarante's case, been told by the orphanage) to come to the forest clearing to receive some special training.

Amarante and Mayumi were talking beside a lake. Ayaka, Natsuki and Rei were practicing tree climbing while Sayuri was drawing on a notepad, using a pencil that someone had donated to the orphanage. Each one was wondering who would teach them and what he/she was going to teach them.

Suddenly, there was a bright orange flash and Naruto stood there, hands in his pockets. Immediately, all of the girls stopped and stood in front of Naruto. Though all of them knew Naruto, only Amarante and Sayuri had seen Naruto out of training, since he loved to visit both of them at the orphanage.

Naruto took his hands out of his pockets and folded them. "So you're probably wondering why I called you girls here." All of them nodded. "Well, I decided to do a different training for you girls. You will still get the regular training with the others but when we are alone, I'm going to be training you in some different arts." Naruto then took out six pieces of paper. "These are elemental affinity papers. Here, each of you takes one." All of the girls took a paper. "Just send some of your chakra into the paper and we can see what your affinity is. Wind cuts the paper in half, lightning makes your paper crinkle, water makes your paper wet, fire makes your paper burst into flames and earth makes your paper crumble into dust."

All of the girls nodded and sent some chakra through the papers. Not surprisingly, Amarante's affinity was wind. 'It's going to be easier to teach her, since she also my affinity,' he thought. Turning to Mayumi, Naruto saw her paper was wet, indicating her affinity was water. He looked to Ayaka and all he saw were the ashes of her paper. 'She's a fire user.' His eyes then fell on Natsuki. Her paper was crinkled, indicating an affinity toward lightning. 'I think I could teach her the _**Chidori**_.' Rei was next and her paper had crumbled into dust, indicating an earth affinity.

When his eyes traveled to Sayuri, he saw that half her paper had crumbled. The other half was wet. 'A duo affinity, he thought, surprised about the discovery. Not to mention that she has the basis of the _**Mokuton **_release.' Shaking his head, Naruto brought all of the girl's attention back to him. "Since you all know your affinities now, I would like you guys to practice water walking and tree climbing. We'll work on your chakra exercises today and pick up on your different kinds of elemental jutsus in about three and a half hours." Naruto then flashed away, leaving the girls to do their exercises.

* * *

_Four hours later._

We come back to the clearing to see all the girls hunched over, all of them a little winded. They all had been practicing water walking and tree climbing to the point that their chakra control was perfect. They had all stopped about thirty minutes ago, waiting for Naruto to return. Wanting to know the others, Amarante started a conversation with Sayuri.

"You think he's coming back?" Amarante asked Sayuri.

Sayuri shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I've only met him a couple of times, so I don't know his tendencies."

Mayumi decided to join the conversation. "It's kind of weird. We don't know anything about Naruto-sensei, but he knows nearly everything about is. It's unnerving, to say the least."

Rei also added her own two cents. "I honestly cant read our sensei. When Mayumi, Ayaka, Natsuki and I first met him, he seemed to radiate this sort of power. But other then that, we know as much as you guys do."

Ayaka was next. "I sort of like what he is doing to us. You all remember that he said that he believed that we could be great ninja. He spares no expense in training us. I wouldn't be surprised if he made up some cool jutsus for him and for us to use."

Natsuki was the final one. "It seems like we all have something to share. But since it's only been a week ever since we met Naruto-sensei, we're going to have to hold our opinions about him until we know him better."

All of them nodded and continued to converse about other topics. Unbeknownst to them, Naruto had been hiding in the bushes around the clearing, having returned thirty minutes earlier. It really touched his heart that Amarante and her fellow ninja trusted him that much. 'I promise, to all of you, that you girls will get the best training that I can offer.' Deciding to show himself, since his feet were getting sleepy, he waved to all of them.

"I see you guys have mastered water walking and tree climbing." All of the girls nodded. "Well, I said we would train with our elements when I got back but we'll also be doing something else in the process." With that said, Naruto immediately unrolled a sealing scroll, activated it and threw the scroll into the air. A moment later, there was a puff of smoke and all the weapons Naruto had purchased that morning all came crashing down. There were so much that Rei, Mayumi and Ayaka were knocked off their feet. Ignoring there surprised looks, Naruto said "now take any weapon you deem fit. Just remember when I say this, choose a weapon that you feel most comfortable with."

All the girls stood up and walked over to the weapons. It took about twenty minutes but Naruto saw that all the girls had a weapon that they thought fit them. Amarante had opted for two kodaichis, Mayumi and Rei with single swords and Ayaka, Sayuri and Natsuki with single katanas. Each had also been given the pouches that Naruto had purchased. They each received ten kunai and a hundred shuriken. Strapping their new weapons to their backs, all the girls looked at Naruto again.

Naruto started. "Now the reason I wanted you guys to take weapons was because I will be teaching you the art of Kenjutsu. I am a beginner myself but each of you will be sparring against someone else while I spar with my clone. We shall begin in two minutes."

With that said, Naruto created a clone and got into a stance, his practice katana held in a reverse grip style while his clone held it in the normal style. Immediately, the girls split into groups. Amarante had gone with Sayuri, Mayumi went against Ayaka and Rei opted to fight Natsuki. The air was silent and still as the practice duel was about to begin. Every last ninja was there was scared out of their minds but if one looked closely, that person could see a fire of determination in the eyes of the ninja. A bird, perched on one of the many trees around the area, suddenly took flight. With that signal, the duels began.

* * *

_With Shion (two hours after the duels had started)_

Shion rubbed her hands up and down her face, growing tired by the minute. It was bad enough that she had to deal with paperwork concerning the dead guards but she had finished reading the message that had been written to her from Konoha. In the message, Konoha had now entered the arranged marriage race. They had offered one of their wealthiest civilians to be her man. She had just written a reply right after the last sentence, politely (I don't know politely you can get after multiple declines) refusing the offer. 'What I wouldn't do just to go to sleep right now,' she thought. She heard her palace doors open and sighed. 'Why cant people just leave me alone,' she whined. The person turned out to be the same messenger that she had almost killed this morning.

Putting on her regal face, Shion spoke to the messenger. "Another message?"

The messenger nodded. "This one is from Suna, ma'am."

Shion sighed. 'Hope it's some good news.' Taking the scroll, she bid the messenger farewell. Once said man was out of sight, she unrolled the scroll and glanced at it.

_Dear Priestess Shion, _

_So sorry to be writing this, but it has come to our attention that one former Konoha shinobi might be heading to your village. His name is Uzumaki Naruto and he is a dear friend of mine. If he does make a stop at your village, please find some way to detain him so I can pick him up. It is sad that Konoha had lost its most powerful shinobi along with its most trusted citizen. I would like to take him to Suna and make him a Suna shinobi._

_Godaime Kazekage_

_Gaara_

_P.S. just to let you know, we have backed off from the arranged marriages. I think the Wind Daimyo finally got the message after your last reply._

Shion laughed a little at the postscript. She still remembered the letter. One of the guards had came in when Shion threw the proposal against the wall, denting both the wall and the proposal. The guard, after getting over his shock, asked if he could do anything to help. Shion had shaken her head, telling the guard to go back to his post. The guard left but not before picking up the scroll and hiding it in his armor. Later, Shion had begun to write another reply when the same guard came in and handed her something. Wondering what it was, Shion had looked up to the guard, only for him to shake his head and he left immediately after. Shion opened it and had to clamp her mouth shut before she busted out laughing.

It was picture of one of the guards and he was flashing his butt to a camera. Some guards had even gone as far as to take a black ink writing utensil and write obscene things on the picture. Deciding that this might get the point across, she sealed the letter with the picture and sent it to the Wind Daimyo. 'Apparently, it did work,' Shion thought. She frowned however. 'If Gaara has an idea that Naruto is here, who else knows or has an idea where Naruto is?'

Shion was roused from her thoughts when one of the new guards came running through the doorway. Bending to one knee, the guard said "ma'am we have spotted a large amount of energy coming from the northeast of our position. Would you like us to investigate?"

Shion thought for a moment. "No, just let it be. I'm sure it is nothing to serious."

The guard nodded. "Of course, my lady." With that, the guard then ran out of the doors.

Shion sighed and gazed out to the northeast, to where she knew Naruto and the others were training. "What exactly are you doing out there, Naruto?" Shion had muttered and hoped Naruto was doing nothing too extreme.

In fact, it was much more extreme then Shion even dared to imagine.

* * *

_With Naruto (three hours after the duels began)_

Naruto was lying on his back in the clearing, breathing heavily. 'God, that was tough,' he thought. Turning over onto his stomach, Naruto glanced at the girls. All of them were just out for the count, each sporting some kind of injury, though nothing too major. Their various practice katanas, kodaichis and swords all laid around their feet, broken right down the middle. Naruto gave a small laugh. 'Looks like they all went out.' Each of the girls had a little difficulty beginning the training but after thirty minutes, each had gotten the hang of their weapons and the battles began in earnest. Naruto himself had broken his katana after two and a half hours of constant fighting. 'Uhg, never thought learning Kenjutsu could be so hard, he thought. I'm mostly flying by the seat of my pants by training these girls in this art.'

After another three minutes, Amarante started to rise. She was still low on energy however and was only able to flip where he stomach was facing the sky.. She looked over at Naruto and smiled "Sensei," she began.

"Yes?"

Amarante seemed to be mulling over her words. Finally, she asked "why are you doing? Why are you training us?"

"Remember what I told you guys before we started?" Amarante nodded. "That's my reason. I believe that you guys will become awesome shinobi. With just the right training, you may be able to surpass my old teacher."

Amarante looked at Naruto quizzically, but decided to drop the matter. Instead she asked "could you teach me some wind jutsus?"

Naruto looked at her dumbly. "Um, sure I guess. But you want to rest up for a little bit?"

Amarante nodded and continued. "You said you believe in us and you believe we can become the best shinobi. Well, I want to learn some wind jutsus."

Naruto nodded and stood up, albeit a little slowly and with much whining from his muscles. "Come on then. I have just enough chakra to teach you one move."

Amarante stood up as well, with the same slowness as Naruto. "Now, the one I'm going to teach you is _Fūton: Renkūdan__**. **_It's a very simple technique and one that doesn't drain too much chakra. Watch my hands. I'm going to do this really slow." Naruto then made the hand signs, doing each one slowly so that Amarante could see. After about five tries, he asked Amarante to try. Amarante made the signs but it took her a while before she could remember the proper order. "You seem to have gotten it down, Naruto said. Now I want you to try it out."

Amarante nodded. She made the signs, cried out _Fūton: Renkūdan _and blew out a huge air bullet. Said bullet smashed and destroyed trees in about a 30 meter straight line. The amount of noise also woke up the others and they to wanted to learn some of their elemental jutsus. Naruto sweat dropped. 'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to teach Amarante a futon jutsu,' he thought.

* * *

_Konoha (3 hours before midnight)_

Most of the vendors inside the village were closed, but a barbeque restaurant was still open, though there was only one person in there. Haruno Sakura sat at one of the booths, staring at her now cold tea. It had been several minutes since she entered the establishment, but her mind was no clearer then when she entered. She had kept asking herself two questions. "Why, she muttered, over and over. "Why were you banished, Naruto? Where are you now?" over and over, the questions seemed to come. Sakura kept staring at her tea while a single tear came out of her eyes. It truly was a sad moment for Sakura. For one, her crush was gone and now her anchor was gone. She basically had no one. As she sat there, Sakura also thought of something else. 'I really don't feel for this village anymore. It's so hard for people to let go of the past.'

Her analytical bran also started to work. 'I know he wouldn't go to Suna. That would cause complications. Every other place is either too far or not far enough.' It took a vicious kick from Inner Sakura (yes she's going to be in this story) to finally have Sakura focus on one location. A memory came back to her, one of a sunset, of her standing by Rock Lee and two blonds, one male and one female, talking and the blond female asking the male blond a question. A promise made between the two. Finally, it all clicked and Sakura knew where Naruto was.

"Oni No Kuni." Slapping some bills and a tip, she ran from the restaurant. She had some packing to do.

* * *

_Midnight_

Mrs. Haruno was currently watching some cheesy operas on her TV. Another one had just ended when she called her daughter's name. "Sakura, your dinner is getting cold." No answer came. "Sakura?" when she received no answer, she got off her couch and went toward her room**. **'This better not be one of her moods,' Mrs. Haruno thought. You could tell that this was not a new thing for Sakura's mom. Mrs. Haruno reached her daughter's room and knocked once. "Sakura?" no answer came from the door. Mrs. Haruno tried the knob and saw that the door was not locked. Steadying her breath, Sakura's mom entered the room.

The site that greeted her was startling to day the least. The entire room was empty. The closet was bare of clothing and her nightstand was empty as well. Mrs. Haruno then noticed a piece of paper stuck to the wall with a kunai. She took the letter with a shaking hand, opened it and read it. She dropped the letter, put her hands on her mouth and ran as fast as she could to the Hokage tower.

It doesn't need to be said what was written on the paper.

* * *

_Konoha Gates_

Sakura readjusted her pack and checked her equipment one more time. 'Looks like I'm all set,' she thought.

She then took off her hiate and looked at it. 'Only one last thing to do.' She took a kunai from her weapons pouch, scratched the leaf symbol and dropped her hiate. She then took capsules from her pouch, used her chakra enhanced strength to throw them far, then departed Konoha from the gates. 'It should take me at least a week and a half at top speed to get to Oni No Kuni,' she thought. With that said, she jumped into the trees and began her journey.

Unbeknownst to her, four shadows were following her. With orders from their master to eliminate any threat to Konoha, they started trailing her.

With the night air's howl, a new chapter began on Haruno Sakura's life. She didn't know that she would change so much more.

* * *

**Got nothing to say other then here is chapter 5. Thank you for reading and don't forget to review. Comments, suggestions and criticism are welcome but no flames.**

**Glossary**

**Chidori: **Lightning Blade

**Mokuton: **Wood Release

**Poll Time: Should Sayuri learn the Mokuton release?**

**Yes**

**No**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the disclaimer this time. I don't Naruto at all.**

**So without further ado, onto the chapter.**

_Forest southeast of Oni No Kuni (a week and a half after Sakura's defection)_

In a forest clearing, it is all quiet. The morning sun had arisen hours ago and the birds had already woken everyone up. It is tranquil to say the least.

Then suddenly, a clash of metal on metal was heard as two people were in the midst of a duel. Switching from thrusts and jabs and parrying like mad, both combatants met again. As they slowed down to catch their breath, we see it is Uzumaki Naruto and his silver haired student, Amarante. The two had been going at it for the better part of three hours, each one refusing to yield. Of course, this was their training method, trying to beat the other one in a show of endurance and speed. So far, Naruto has won all of them but Amarante was not discouraged. She, along with the others, had been growing in strength, speed and endurance. Their Kenjutsu had also improved by leaps and all of them have learned at least several new elemental jutsus as well.

Amarante was smiling. 'This ninja training was truly worth it,' she thought. Leaping upward to avoid a slash from Naruto's katana, she sheathed her kodaichis, ran through five signs and shouted "_**Fuuton: Ken o Senkai" **__(Wind Release: Swirling Swords)*_! Naruto back flipped and ran through ten signs "_**Fuuton: Genzai no kūki o tsutsumu" **__(Wind Release: Enveloping Air Current)*._

'Damn,' Amarante thought. When her jutsu hit Naruto, the air swords disappeared into the shield, which protected Naruto. Landing on her heel, Amarante unsheathed her kodaichis and charged. Naruto smiled, brought his katana out, switched to the reverse grip and charged as well. They both proceeded into a Kenjutsu match, each giving it their all. Amarante ducked Naruto's slash and thrust her left kodaichi in the direction of Naruto's heart. Naruto smirked, brought his left hand out and was able to redirect her kodaichi to miss his heart and even his shoulder. Amarante reacted quick and jumped back. Reevaluating the situation, she made a cross seal. "_Kage Bushin No Jutsu." _A clone popped right next to Amarante and both clone and real charged at Naruto.

For his credit, Naruto smiled. 'Of course she would use a kage bushin,' he thought. He had taught all of them the jutsu and even though the girls couldn't create as much as him, they were able to create a decent amount, about thirty to fifty, depending how much chakra they used. He had also explained the side effects about using shadow clones. They all took it to heart and never created more then twenty. 'They are all growing up faster then I imagined, Naruto mused. I know they are going to become great ninja.' Leaping back from a slash to his neck, he sheathed his katana and ran through fifteen hand signs _**"Fuuton: Washi no kōtō" **__(Wind Release: Soaring Eagle)*_

Amarante cursed again. 'How many jutsus does sensei have?' the real Amarante was able to avoid the attack, but the clone got caught in the attack and puffed out of existence. Amarante had just landed when she felt cold steel put against her neck. She then heard her sensei's voice. "Yield," Naruto said. Seeing how she couldn't turn this around, Amarante nodded. "Don't be discouraged, my flower, Naruto said. You are getting better each and every day."

Amarante shook her head. "Not enough to beat you."

Naruto chuckled. "Like I said, don't be discouraged. I'm not looking for you to beat me, though it would be nice to see you do that. I want to see you get better, no matter how little it seems to you. Your jutsu nearly collapsed my shield. As such, I think I could teach you another wind jutsu." Naruto made twenty-three signs and Amarante was able to memorize and copy them. With a nod, both of them made their way back to the others. All of them needed a little rest. For today, unknown to them, all of their lives would change forever.

* * *

_Oni No Kuni_

Shion was seated at her chair, checking yesterday's traffic report. Sighing, she set it down, rubbing her eyes. 'Nothing more then the usual merchant here or there,' she thought. Nothing much had changed between her and Naruto, though they had gone out on more dates, each one ending with a kiss and a wave goodbye from the blond god. Even though Shion liked these, she would love it even more if Naruto would make the kiss longer, if Naruto's hands would travel just a little more south, if Naruto…

Shion blushed. 'Am I turning into a pervert,' she wondered. They were up for another date tonight and Shion had an inkling that she had to initiate the kiss if things were to go further between her and Naruto. So far, she had been too shy but that didn't bother Naruto. 'Well now, looks like I'm going to have to step up a notch for my Blondie.'

Shion heard her palace doors open. In came a running Mayumi, one of Naruto's shinobi apprentices. She was wearing a blue sweater, despite the heat outside and bowed in front of Shion.

Shion smiled. "You know you don't have to do that Mayumi."

Mayumi smiled' If I didn't bow Shion-san, then I'd turn out like Naruto. Though now that I think about it, that might not be a bad thing."

Shion giggled. "You're right on that part. So what do you have to report?"

"Our training has been going faster then we predicted, Mayumi replied. Naruto is an awesome sensei."

Shion nodded. "So where is Naruto now?"

"Far as I know, he was still training himself when he sent us back," Mayumi replied.

Shion frowned. Sure it was nice for Naruto to be training, but did he have to run himself into the ground to do so? 'Maybe I'll bring that up on our date tonight.' Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Shion dismissed Mayumi and sat back on her chair.

This was turning out to be one long day for her. Shion couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss in their country and would bring harm to her people and her boyfriend.

What she didn't know was that trouble was knocking at her door and Naruto would be the one opening it.

* * *

_Forest Path (Afternoon)_

Dashing through the forest, Haruno Sakura was tired. She had running on and off for the better part of ten days, using soldier pills and her own determination to get to Oni No Kuni. 'Took us a little less to get to Oni No Kuni the first time, she thought. I'm really out of shape.' But still, Sakura knew she was close.

It was over ten minutes when Sakura saw the village gates. She greatly sighed and went down to the dirt path. Adjusting her backpack once more, she started to walk to the gate. The two gate guards themselves saw Sakura and began to walk toward her.

Unbeknownst to both parties, a group of soldiers were hiding in the shadows of the many trees and forestry around the area. When they saw Sakura walk down the path, they took action. All of them sprung from the shadows and threw shuriken at Sakura.

Only years of being a ninja saved Haruno Sakura that day. She had heard the rustle of leaves behind her, sent some chakra to her hands, turned around and punched the ground, sending rocks flying into the air. The rocks were able to block all the shuriken heading her way. Sakura looked at the ninja that had landed a few yards away from her. 'Those aren't ANBU ninja, though they have the leaf symbol on their hiates,' she thought. Judging by their expertise and execution, these ninjas are above chunin low jounin.'

The two guards were far from idle, as one turned to the other and said "get the others. It looks like Konoha is here." The other nodded and began to run back to the gates. One of the Ne ninjas saw this and threw a kunai, which pierced the guard's left leg, near the man's ACL. The man cried out in pain and fell down. The other guard unsheathed his sword and got into a stance. He turned to look at Sakura. "Looks like they came after you."

Sakura nodded. "Do you have any other guards on the way?"

He shook his head. "I can only hope that someone heard your punch and that they send for the right people."

Sakura nodded and got into her Taijutsu stance. "Let's hope so."

* * *

_With Naruto and his ninja_

As Sakura had punched the ground, Naruto and his group were currently enjoying their lunch at one of the restaurants. As Naruto looked among his group, he couldn't help but smile. All of them had excelled in Kenjutsu study and their Ninjutsu were top notch as well. They even got as far as making their own Ninjutsu, which were also top notch as well. Even though Naruto knew they would become fine kunoichi, he never expected to excel this much.

Naruto was roused out of his thoughts when a crashed into the front door. Naruto and his group immediately looked at the guard as he picked himself off the floor and ran to Naruto. "Sir, there appears to be some kind of disturbance at the main gates."

Naruto looked incredulous. "What sort of disturbance?"

"We do not exactly sir, the guard replied. But some citizens heard a huge earthquake and we have lost contact with both of our gate guards."

Naruto went into his thinking process. 'Earthquakes don't happen naturally around here. There are only two people that can cause them…' Naruto immediately slapped some bills onto the table and turned toward the guard. "Does the person have pink hair?"

"Reports have indicated that there is a pink haired woman."

Naruto turned toward his group. "Get your weapons."

All of them nodded and shushined away from the restaurant. Naruto pulled out a scroll, bit his thumb and swiped the blood across the seal. His chakra katana immediately appeared, sheathed in its holster. After strapping the katana diagonally across his back, he heard the others return, their various weapons strapped around their waists.

Naruto nodded. "Let's go.

* * *

_With Sakura_

Sakura jumped backwards, narrowly missing a fire jutsu one of the Ne forces had fired. Simply, it was not going good for her. She hadn't been able to hit one of ninja and the guard that had helped was lying dead, pierced by no more then five shuriken. Sakura was breathing heavily and her legs were burning. The Ne forces knew this and all of them had only been using low ranked fire jutsu. But Sakura could see them now, walking calmly toward her while the leader himself prepared a jutsu. Her legs felt like lead and she no longer had to strength to jump out of the way nor enough chakra to even perform a Kawarimi. She put her head down, waiting for the end. 'The only regret that I have is that I never got to see Naruto's face again.' A single tear formed on her eyes.

The leader had finished his signs, crying out_**"Katon: Hōenka." **__(Fire Release: Flame Flower)_

"_**Doton: Īsutā-tō no atama (**__Earth Release: Easter Island Head)*_

"_**Suiton: Suijinheki" (**__Water Release: Water Encampment Wall)_

"_**Katon: Jigoku no hōyō" (**__Fire Release: Inferno's Embrace)*_

"_**Mokuton: Mokujōheki" **__(Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall)_

"_**Raiton: Dōtai shīrudo **__(Lightning Release: Conductor's Shield)*_

As the fire flowers came at Sakura, five simultaneous jutsus were called out. The next thing Sakura knew, she was eclipsed by five young girls, all having various weapons strapped across their waist. The one with the blond hair spoke first. "Damn, that jutsu was strong. It nearly knocked down my jutsu."

"Ye, the one with the green hair replied. These guys are no pushovers."

The others nodded and faced the Ne forces. Sakura could only watch in awe as both parties stared each other down. 'Those jutsu were really well done, she thought. I've never heard of the Doton and Raiton jutsu those girls used. They even have a Mokuton user. What in the world is happening here?' Sakura was mused from her thoughts when two other figures appeared. One was a girl and had long silver hair which reached the middle of her spine. She was wearing a silver battle kimono and had two kodaichis on her hips. The other one was tall, taller then her by at least four inches. He wore a black muscle shirt and midnight black pants. His katana was out and the man was wielding it in the reverse grip. When Sakura looked up, she saw spikey golden hair adorned his head. She gasped and was rendered speechless. When Sakura was able to speak again she said "Naruto?"

Naruto smiled. "Never thought I would be seeing you on your knees, Sakura-san."

Sakura just smiled, not having enough strength to clobber Naruto. Before she could thank him, Naruto said "Guards, take Sakura into the town and let her rest. We got this." Sakura looked behind her and saw two guards. Both grabbed each of her arms and started escorting into the village. Sakura turned her head to Naruto and said "Good luck."

"We don't need luck, Naruto replied. But thanks anyway."

Once Sakura was out of sight, Naruto turned to the Ne forces. Seeing that there were four, he turned to his students. "I take one; you guys take the other three. Got it?" all of them nodded. "Disperse."

Everyone, including the ROOT forces, scattered into different parts of the surrounding forests. The fight had truly begun for Amarante and the rest.

* * *

_With Amarante and Sayuri (northeast of Oni No Kuni)_

When the ROOT ninja landed on the ground, he faced the silver haired girl and the emerald haired girl. Wasting no time at all, the ninja ran through signs and shouted "_**Suiton: Mizu Teppō (**__Water Release: Water Gun)._

Amarante and Sayuri themselves also flashed through signs, both shouting at the same time. _**Fuuton: Daitoppa **__(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough), __**Suiton: Teppōdama **__(Water Release: Gunshot). _Combined with Amarante's wind jutsu, Sayuri's water jutsu overcame the ROOT's jutsu and caused a small crater where the jutsu's collided.

The ROOT ninja cursed. Taking out his short sword, he charged at both girls, his cockiness apparent. For their part, Amarante took out her chakra channeling kodaichis and Sayuri unsheathed her chakra channeling katana and charged as well. All of them had switched to chakra channeling weapons three days ago. When Naruto had first asked them about it, all of them declined, thinking that Naruto had no money to pay for all of their weapons. To their utter surprise, Naruto had already ordered them after their first day training. Just in this case, he brought the hardest metal known to them, so the swords wouldn't break.

Going back to the battle, the ROOT ninja swung his sword, aiming for Sayuri's midsection. Amarante blocked the slash with her left kodaichi while Sayuri swung her katana straight toward the ROOT's neck. The ninja ducked, took out a kunai and tried to stab Sayuri in the neck. Sayuri saw this and brought her own kunai from her weapons pouch. When the two kunai clanged, Amarante kicked the man in the stomach, sending the ROOT ninja back. Using the momentum from Amarante's kick, the ROOT ninja kicked off the ground and back flipped. While in midair, the ninja ran through one hang sign and shouted _**"Suiton: Suigadan**__ (Water Release: Water Fang Bullet).__**"**_

Amarante flashed through the ram sign and shouted _**"Fuuton: Atsugai **__(Wind Release: Pressure Damage)_!_" _the jutsu's collided, canceling each other out cause of their equal strength. Sayuri was far from idle, shouting out "_**Doton: Dochūbaku **__(Earth Release: Landslide)_!_"_

This was absolutely ridiculous in the ROOT ninja's mind. He thought this would be an easy victory, but both girls had whipped out impressive jutsu and the emerald haired one had two affinities. Jumping to the side to avoid the earth jutsu, he ran through twenty-five hand signs and shouted "_**Suiton: Taki o koete**__ (Water Release: Transcending Waterfall)*_!_"_

Both Amarante and Sayuri looked at each other before jumping back to avoid the crashing waterfall. 'Looks like he stopped playing around,' they both thought. 'However, he is not the only one without a powerful jutsu.' Planting their feet firmly on the ground, Amarante ran through twenty hand signs while Sayuri went through twenty-nine.

"_**Fuuton: Dai tatsumaki **__(Wind Release: Grand Tornado)*_!_"_

"_**Suiton: Nami o abare **__(Water Release: Rampaging Wave)*_!_"_

The ROOT ninja cursed again. Before he could ask himself where they learned all these jutsus, he had to roll out of the way, narrowly avoiding both techniques. However, this left him wide open to Sayuri's other jutsu, which she had begun after performing her water technique. She formed the last sign and shouted "_**Mokuton: Mori no ikari **__(Wood Release: Woodlands Rage)*_!_"_

All around the ROOT ninja, the woods started coming alive. Roots started to sprout from the many trees around the area and it started to scare the ninja. 'What the hell are these things,' he thought, fear evident on his face. He was roused when one of the roots from the trees grabbed ahold of his leg, picked him up and threw him hard on the ground. The ninja's head hit the ground with a sickening crunch, his skull crushed from the impact.

Amarante looked at Sayuri. "No matter how many times I've seen you use that jutsu, it scares the living crap out of me."

Sayuri giggled. "So? You jutsu scares the living daylights out of Naruto. I'm sure mine only scares you. Ayaka and Rei seem to like it.

Amarante shook her head. "Come on, we gotta find the rest. We might be able to help them out."

"Yeah, Sayuri replied. Could you help me a little bit? That last one took a lot out of me."

Amarante nodded, picked up Sayuri in a fireman's carry and jumped into the remaining trees.

* * *

_With Mayumi and Ayaka (northwest of Oni No Kuni)_

"_**Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu **__(Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)."_

"_**Suiton: Suijinheki **__(Water Release: Water Encampment Wall)."_

While Amarante and Sayuri fought the Suiton ROOT, Mayumi and Ayaka were fighting a Katon ROOT. The fight had been at it for several minutes with each ninja only showing medium to low level jutsu. Ayaka stood next to Mayumi and smirked.

"You think that weak thing is good enough to defeat Mayumi?" she questioned. Well let me show you how a real fire technique is supposed to go." She punctuated her statement with a sign and shouted "_**Katon: Fureafenikkusu **__(Fire Release: Phoenix Flare)*_!_" _Ayaka then blew out a stream of fire which formed into a shining phoenix. The phoenix then flared its wings which produced a bright light and blinded the ROOT ninja. While the ninja was rubbing his eyes, Ayaka flashed through seven signs and shouted "_**Katon: **__**Honoo o funsai **__(Fire Release: Crushing Flame)*_!_" _Mayumi also ran through seven hand signs and yelled "_**Suiton: Mizuiro no iki **__(Water Release: Aqua's Breath)*." _

Both jutsus collided with the still stunned ROOT, knocking him onto his rear end. The water technique had knocked the air out of him while the fire technique destroyed his clothing and melted the armor underneath said clothing. Shaking his head to clear the pain, he tried to stand, only to be knocked down again by another water jutsu courtesy of Mayumi. He was really getting mad. He was getting beat by freaking pre-teens here! If he lived, he would never be able to swallow this down. Course, none of this showed on this face, having been trained to be nothing more then emotionless shell of a person. Running through signs, he shouted "_Katon: __Hōsenka no Jutsu."_

Even though both girls were able to dodge the incoming fireballs, both had been distracted by the jutsu, allowing the ROOT member to get back on his feet. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, he engaged Ayaka first with his short sword. Leaping away from horizontal swipe courtesy of the ROOT, Ayaka didn't pull out her weapon, opting for Taijutsu. The ROOT ninja was surprised to see the young girl opting for Taijutsu rather then Kenjutsu but he wasn't complaining. 'If she wants to die that quickly, so be it.' He punctuated his thought with a vertical slash, missing Ayaka by a couple of inches.

Ayaka smirked again. "Come on, I know you can at least lay a scratch on me." Another swing from the ROOT missed, prompting Ayaka to laugh. "I guess not. Oh and by the way, goodbye."

The ROOT ninja looked confused that is until a sword was thrust into his heart from behind. Turning his head around, he saw the young blue haired girl smiling at him and gripping the very sword that had killed him. 'When…what?' that was all that was going through the ROOT ninja's mind before he closed his eyes, dead to the world and to the two girls standing with him.

Mayumi spoke first. "Well, that was overly easy."

Ayaka nodded. "Come on; let's catch up to sensei and the rest."

Mayumi nodded and she disappeared, going southwest. Ayaka soon followed her after burning the body of the ROOT ninja.

* * *

_With Natsuki and Rei (southwest of Oni No Kuni)_

Natsuki and Rei were in the fight of their lives. While Amarante and the others had faced mid-chunin level ROOT, they were facing a low to mid jounin ROOT. The fight had been going on the same time as the other fights, but both girls had been hit with separate Raiton jutsus. The jutsus had fried them and had scrambled their movement for a little over three minutes. Luckily for both of them, the other had gone on the defensive, protecting the one for those minutes until she could get back on her feet.

The ROOT ninja was far from fine however. He had gotten hit from two Raiton jutsus courtesy of Natsuki and three low level earth jutsus from Rei. Even though they didn't hurt that much, the numerous amount of hits had gotten to him. This was evident by sprained foot he had along with a few crushed ribs. Steeling himself, he shouted "_**Raiton:**_ _**Shōgekiha **__(Lightning Release: Shockwave)*."_

Natsuki stood in front of Rei and shouted "_**Raiton: Jiki shadan **__(Lightning Release: Magnetic Blockade)*_!_" _After the two Raiton jutsus hit, Natsuki's protecting her and Rei, Rei shouted "_**Doton: Dosenkiryū **__(Earth Release: Earth Dragon)_!_"_

The ROOT member dodged the incoming earth missile, formed a sign and shouted "_**Raiton: Kaminari no hakai **__(Lightning Release: Thunder Destruction)*_!_"_

Natsuki once again stood in front of Rei and was able to absorb the attack. Her defensive jutsu however, sparked out, leaving Natsuki heavily breathing and nearly out of chakra. Natsuki turned to Rei. "You got any juice left?"

Rei nodded her head. "Enough to use that jutsu. Can you cover me for a little bit?"

"Yeah I can," Natsuki replied. She stood, still breathing heavily. She ran through nine hand signs and shouted "_**Raiton: **__**Gensō-tekina shōheki **__(Lightning Release: Illusionary Barrier)*_!_"_ While Rei started the different signs, Natsuki stood in front of her, ready to intercept any and all jutsus and physical attacks.

The ROOT frowned. 'Whatever she is planning, I can't let her finish it.' He pulled out his short sword and charged at Rei. Natsuki was able to intercept him and the ROOT member received a shock. Swearing, he jumped back, reevaluating his situation. 'I can't fire any Raiton jutsu. She'll just absorb it. Kenjutsu and Taijutsu are also out of the question since she can shock me if I touch her. I think the best way is to wait till her chakra runs out.' With that in mind, he shouted "_**Raiton: Gian **__(Lightning Release: False Darkness)_!_"_

Natsuki cursed. Even though all of her lightning shields could absorb some part of Raiton jutsus, it was still not strong enough to absorb all of the Raiton jutsu. She had to keep reinforcing her shield with chakra, which only drained her already dwindling supply of the much needed energy. She spared a glance toward Rei. It looked like she was almost done.

No sooner had Natsuki finished the thought when Rei shouted "_**Doton: Terakotta no ikari **__(Earth Release: Terra's Wrath)*_!_" _All around Rei, an earthquake had started on a much stronger scale then Sakura's chakra enhanced punch. The earth itself split apart, revealing something that would be imprinted into the ROOT's mind forever. It was almost like the entire earth had split and as the ROOT ninja looked down, he too fell down into the dark abyss.

There were no words spoken between the two girls as they watched the hole seal up. Suddenly, Rei started to fall forward, exhaustion etched across her face. Natsuki did her best to hold her up. She heard the grass rustling behind her and when she turned to look, she saw Ayaka and Mayumi, both looking a little worse for wear. Natsuki spoke first.

"Were you able to kill your guy?"

They both nodded. "Yeah he wasn't too hard. What happened to Rei?"

"She's exhausted, Natsuki answered. She had to use that jutsu."

Both of them gasped. "When she used that jutsu before, Ayaka started, she nearly fell unconscious."

"I know, replied Natsuki. Come on; help me get her to the village. I think Amarante and Sayuri are headed toward sensei."

Both of them nodded and Mayumi took Rei while Ayaka helped Natsuki out.

Naruto had taught them teamwork and now it was time to put that teamwork to the test. The coming weeks would surely prove that.

* * *

_With Shion _

The bustling of the village was all but lost to Shion as she ran to the gates. She had received word about an injured person and had bolted from her chamber doors. Flanked by four guards, she had the gates in her sights. Two guards were carrying a young pink haired woman, a person Shion recognized as Sakura. A closer inspection yielded that Sakura was suffering from pure exhaustion and there were at least several cuts on her body. Turning to the guards, she said "I've heard what has happen, but I want your side of the story." She then turned to the other guards. "Get her inside one of the hospitals near the temple. Our best doctor is on his way." When the guards were able to pick up the now unconscious Sakura, her gaze turned back to the gate guards.

"Where is Naruto and his group now?" she asked, fearing the answer.

"They went to engage some enemy ninja that were following her, one of the guards replied. He told us to bring her to the village."

Nodding her head, she turned to the many trees surrounding her village. 'You better come back alive Naruto, she thought. Otherwise, I will go into the afterlife myself and kick your butt.

* * *

_With Naruto (southeast of Oni No Kuni)_

In contrast to the other battles that had been going on, Naruto's battle had been really quiet. In fact, neither of the combatants had moved from their spot, each perfectly content to watch the other. Still though, it was really odd that neither had moved an inch. The winds kept picking up, blowing Naruto's hair over his eyes. Suddenly, the wind stopped moving and Naruto could no longer hear his own ninja's battle. 'I only hope that they were able to win,' he thought.

That was the signal for both the ROOT squad leader and Naruto to begin their battle. Both drawing out their weapons, Naruto used wind to enhance his speed and was able to surprise the ROOT with a quick slash. The wound was not deep but it forced the ROOT to take several steps back. However, Naruto wasn't about to let him get back on his feet, shouting "_**Kenpō: Fuuton: **__**Aiorosu no surasshu **__(Sword Art: Wind Release: Aeolus's Slash)*!" _

The ROOT stared in shock. Only years of training allowed him to get his senses back and jumped, narrowly avoiding the wind jutsu.

Naruto had more tricks up his sleeve, however, and shouted "_**Kenpō: Fuuton: Kaze no gairan **__(Sword Art: Wind Release: Disturbance of Winds)*!" _Naruto was far from over. Creating a shadow clone, the real Naruto shouted "_**Fuuton: Atsugai **__(Wind Release: Pressure Damage)" _while his clone shouted "_**Fuuton: Daitoppa **__(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!"_

'Damnit,' the ROOT member thought. He was able to avoid two of the wind jutsu but got blown back by the third jutsu. The ROOT member used chakra to plant his feet on the ground to avoid getting blown back further. He then shouted "_**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu **__(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!_

"This is starting to get interesting," Naruto muttered. Quickly strafing to the side, Naruto charged wind nature into his katana and shouted "_**Kenpō: Fuuton: Tengoku no namida-fū **__(Sword Art: Wind Release: Heavenly Wind Tear)*!" _he then slashed his sword horizontally, releasing the pent up wind.

The ROOT ninja ducked and was about to shout a jutsu when he heard Naruto shout "_**Kenpō: Hoshi no dansu **__(Sword Art: Dance of the stars)*!"_ he cursed, ducking once again. The small opening was all Naruto nodded. He shouted "_**Fuuton: Daburu-fū no hakai **__(Wind Release: Double Wind Destruction)*!"_

This jutsu came too quick for the ninja to dodge. Two slices of air impacted the ninja and kicked up a huge dust cloud. When the dust settled, it showed a heavily cut up ROOT ninja. The ninja was bleeding from a cut near his stomach and his left Achilles tendon had been cut. The ROOT ninja's head rose up and his eyes took in Naruto preparing one last jutsu. He lowered his head, knowing the end was near.

To his credit, Naruto couldn't help but admire the man. 'At least he knows that he is beat. You were truly a fine ninja, whoever you are.' Naruto then shouted "_**Kenpō: Hanketsu o kōjun (**__Sword Art: Descending Judgment)*!"_

There was truly nothing left of the ROOT member when the jutsu hit. It completely demolished all of his body parts and sent those body parts to different parts of the surrounding forests. As Naruto stood and looked at the carnage, he doubled over. 'Damn that last one jutsu hit me hard,' he thought. Shaking his head to clear out the pain, Naruto stood again and heard two people landing on the ground behind him. Turning his head, Naruto saw Amarante and Sayuri.

"So, you guys done with your fight?" he asked.

"The guy wasn't too hard, Amarante replied. Though Sayuri was forced to use her ultimate wood jutsu."

Naruto nodded but Sayuri asked a question that would further shake Naruto's resolve. "Do you think they will come back?"

Naruto lowered his head and collected his thoughts. "Honestly Sayuri, I hope not."

* * *

_Dark Room Somewhere_

A fireplace was crackling, making the only known noise in the room. An old man was sitting in his chair, his eye staring at the fire. He had already received the news of the deaths of four of his ROOT ANBU. Still though, their deaths had proven to him that both Naruto and the new traitor Sakura were alive in Oni No Kuni. He was roused from his thoughts when one of his ROOT members bowed in front of him. He sighed. "What do you want?"

"I am wondering if your going to take any action against Oni No Kuni the member began. It would be beneficial to us."

The man shook his head. "Only in the short run. Pull all ROOT members away from that area. We'll let them live for now."

"By your word, Danzo-sama." The ROOT member then disappeared, leaving no trace that he was ever there.

Danzo once again turned his head toward the fire. 'I will let you live this time, Kyubi Jinchuriki. But know that sooner or later, you will watch the world burn down.'

* * *

**Well, nothing to say. Sorry for the late update but school has gotten me locked up. I also had a long time deciding the pairings for the girl's fights.**

**Well R&R. this chapter is my second longest and I hope you guys like the battle scenes.**

***=A jutsu I created. All created jutsu will be posted on my fanfiction profile in a little while.**

**Also note that I will be taking a short break from battle scenes so I can focus more on other stuff.**

**Next Chapter: Konoha's Reaction**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. This upcoming story however, I do own.**

Thanks to all that reviewed the last chapter. Some of the reviewers pointed out that I didn't portray the ROOT members right and for that I'm sorry. It's kinda hard to portray emotionless puppets and weapons the way that ROOT was made to be. Though I like how Sai has been portrayed, evolving from someone emotionless to someone that cares about Naruto and his team.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

_Konoha (two weeks after Sakura's defection)_

It was already midafternoon and the bustling crowds of Konoha were milling about. To those looking from the outside in, the civilians seemed to be having a blast.

However, for the ninja sector of Konoha, it was anything but happy. Most of the ninja were trained to keep a straight face but it took a lot of them to do so. It had been two weeks ever since Sakura was declared a missing-nin and Tsunade has desperately sending out rescue teams to find her and Naruto. Shizune could only guess that wherever Sakura went was where Naruto was right now. No one had the faintest idea where that could be.

In a dango shop, Konoha jounin Mitirashi Anko was staring at her tea and her lunch. She had touched nothing on her dango plate. It was rare to see Anko deep in thought but that was what was happening. Anko had been deep in thought for hours now, ever since she entered the dango shop. She was a regular customer so the owner did not ask any questions. The tea had long since gotten cold but Anko had not noticed.

Anko was roused from her thoughts when someone said "You know, never thought I would see you not eat dango."

Anko turned her head and was greeted by the site of Yūhi Kurenai, who looked like she had gotten done training her team. Taking a seat across from Anko, Kurenai placed her order and turned to regard Anko.

For her credit, Anko started speaking. "I just realized I'm not that hungry anymore. There is a lot on my mind."

Kurenai nodded her head. "So you to have been wondering what's been going on, haven't you?"

"Let's recap, Anko started. First, the blonde gaki disappears like there's not tomorrow. Second, the Hokage sends out teams to search for said gaki and she claims to the public that Naruto has gone missing from a previous assignment. Third, Sakura promptly leaves and has not been seen in two weeks. Also the Hokage has declared her a missing-nin."

Kurenai smiled. "That pretty much sums it up."

Anko threw her hands into the air. "Fuck, if this shit gets any more complicated, I might up and leave as well. This place is getting so lonely."

"I know what you mean, Kurenai replied. But our duty is to the Hokage and as such, we have to continue to teach the Will of Fire to all of our students. Though it is a little bit in the pain in the ass to teach people without Naruto being here."

Anko nodded. "That blonde gaki was basically an embodiment of our Will. Without him, it's gonna be hard to teach the next generation."

Kurenai giggled. "Why are u complaining? You don't have to teach any genin in the next years."

"Only because I basically begged the Sandaime to not give me a team, Anko replied. I like my job in interrogation."

"Right now, I wouldn't mind switching jobs with you, Kurenai said. I have some pretty mean genjutsus to use on prisoners."

"Hey, I got first dibs on all of those guys, Anko retorted. If you join us, I might allow you to use your techniques on one of the smaller prisoners.

Before Kurenai could begin her next statement, another female voice spoke out. "Jeez you guys are loud."

Both women turned to the voice and saw an ANBU with a cat mask on. Kurenai smiled. "I though you were off duty, Yugao-san?"

Behind the mask, Uzuki Yūgao smiled. "I was until the Hokage had to pull all ANBU in search of Sakura."

"Well that sounds nice, Anko replied. Where have you been searching?"

Pulling off her mask and taking a seat right next to Anko, Yugao placed an order and turned to the other women. "I've been around to Suna and Taki. Nothing much going on in both villages. I just came back from Kusa. Tsunade is allowing our team three days rest before we search around Oni."

The other two nodded. "Looks like your going to have your hands full in the coming days, Anko pointed out. Want to come with us to the hot springs later on?"

Yugao shrugged. "I guess. Going to the hot springs sounds better then just walking around. Who else is coming?"

"Hana is, Kurenai answered. She also got several days off from the vet's office and has wanted to go to the hot springs with us for a while."

Yugao nodded and accepted her food from the waiter. Taking a bite from her dango stick, she voiced her opinion on the matter. "It really is sad to see such young and promising students disappear from our ranks. I only hope we can accept the repercussions of our actions."

Neither of the two other women said anything. All of them understood what had transpired.

* * *

_Shopping District_

Midafternoon traffic around Konoha was a mess for normal people. For one Yamanaka Ino, however, it was all but normal. Picking up some items for the flower shop, Ino couldn't help but look around at the numerous amounts of civilians crowding the streets, their faces impassive to the rest of the world. To those people, this was their normal way of living. Being ignorant to the rest of the world was a simple bliss to the civilians. To Ino, who was a ninja, being ignorant usually got you killed or worse. And unfortunately for her, her ignorance made her lose her best friend.

Stopping at one of the many road side vendors, Ino started to absentmindedly push items away, her mind elsewhere. 'Damn you Forehead. You always seemed to have the worst luck happen to you.' Even though Ino had long since gotten over Sasuke, Ino herself had seen what Sakura had only recently seen in Naruto. She would never tell anyone but she and Naruto had gone out for a little while, somewhere close to a month. Even though they never really got intimate, both enjoyed the other's company. But when they both realized that they would never escalate beyond best friends, Ino ended it, though for all intents and purposes, she would rather kill herself.

However, it didn't affect Naruto, since he himself understood Ino's reasons. Both resolved to become best friends and it that effect, both became even closer to the other. Ino could still remember the times that Naruto treated her like a princess and goddess that everyone though of her. Naruto didn't take it too overboard but he knew just the right words to make Ino blush, to have her heart going at a thousand miles an hour. Wherever Naruto was, she only hoped he found someone just for him.

"You know Ino, the last time I caught you daydreaming like this, droll was coming out of your mouth in waterfalls."

Snapping out of her memories, Ino turned and saw Shikamaru leaning against a building, a cigarette clutched between his middle and index finger. He looked bored standing there. Ino smiled, untied her hair so that her hair was down and ran to Shikamaru.

"Never thought I would see you not watching the clouds," Ino said.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, there's a first time for everything, ya know."

Ino nodded. "Quite. So what you doing down here in this district? You said you would never be down here."

"It's troublesome, but my mom wants me to pick up some clothes for my father." Shikamaru answered.

Ino put her hands on her hips. "Well that must have been a fun conversation between your parents."

"More like my mom told me and my dad just went along with it," Shikamaru retorted.

Ino giggled. "Well since we're both down here, wanna help me shop?"

Shikamaru shrugged again. "It will be troublesome but sure."

The two of them started to walk to the civilian clothing shop down a ways from where they were. Shikamaru started to ask Ino some questions.

"So, exactly what are you doing here, not like this is a surprise?"

"I'm just picking up some things for the shop, Ino answered. Probably some more plants and stuff related to such."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Sounds troublesome."

"Everything sounds troublesome to you," Ino retorted. When Shikamaru didn't answer, Ino smiled. "Thought so."

"Troublesome blonds," Shikamaru muttered.

"What was that?" Ino asked while her voice was rising in tone and in volume. Even though she rarely screamed, what was about to transpire would really irk her to the max.

"Nothing," Shikamaru answered.

Ino smiled. "Exactly." They went for another several yards before Ino asked "So what have you been up to, our fearless leader?"

At this, Shikamaru cracked a smile. "Nothing more then organizing the Chuunin exams."

Ino was puzzled. "I thought they cancelled them after Pein's invasion?"

"The Hokage wants to the village to return to a sense of normalcy, Shikamaru answered. Continuing the Chuunin exams was thought to be the best way."

"Though considering what has been happening, that is truly only delaying the problem." Ino had said this and watched as Shikamaru's expression went from solitary to crestfallen.

"Lady Tsunade is not doing too well," Shikamaru said after a pause.

"What makes you say that?" Ino questioned.

"Think about it, Shikamaru began. She didn't have the power to stop Pein, she couldn't stop Naruto from being banished from the very village he swore to protect and she couldn't stop Sakura from leaving this village. On top of that, there are these rumors of groups that are trying to usurp her power."

Ino shook her head. "It's like the entire world fell on top of Konoha once Naruto was gone."

Shikamaru stopped, turned and faced Ino. "You don't think I know that? Half the time, my day is spent listening to Tsunade talk about how much her life has died. She even wants to retire."

Ino was flabbergasted. "Are you serious?"

"Entirely," answered the shadow user.

"Damn, Ino started. This is starting to get out of hand."

Shikamaru shook his head and slowly separated from Ino. He turned a corner and was lost amongst the hustle and bustle of the traffic.

Ino, however, stood still, her mind running at speeds that would shock most onlookers. 'I honestly don't know what's going on anymore, she thought. I just hope that whatever is happening out there won't come back and bite us in the ass.'

* * *

_Hokage's Office_

Sometimes, it was nice to be Hokage. You know, all the furnished office was nice to those who loved it and the constant attention was something out of an actor's life.

However, on this particular day, it truly sucked to be the leader of Konohagakure. As Tsunade filed another paper into the growing stacks, she frowned. 'This is becoming too routine,' she thought. Truly, when you have been a ninja for as long as Tsunade has been, something becoming routine or familiar (such as paperwork) really irked her a lot. Battle was nothing like that. The opponents you faced could be a different skill level or there could be more enemy ninja then you fully realized. The terrain could be different for each battle and the outcome not all to certain. Tsunade, even though she did not enjoy battling, she would gladly battle rather then sit behind a desk.

Filing another paper into the decline folder, she heard her door being knocked on. "Enter," she replied.

The door opened to reveal Kurenai and her old team (don't forget that all members of the Rookie Nine were Chuunin when Naruto came back). Tsunade looked at her appointment's list. The old Team 8 was not scheduled for anything. Straightening her back, Tsunade said "well, this is an utter surprise. But I guess I can work with it. So what exactly do you guys need?"

To this, Kurenai frowned. "ma'am, we requested to join one of the search squads. You said to wait for one week. It has been a week Lady Hokage."

Tsunade had this…dumbfounded look on her face. She turned to her door and shouted "SHIZUNE!"

Upon hearing her name, the brown haired assistant rushed through the door. "Yes, lady Hokage?"

"Could you look at the search team signup and see if Team 8 is on there?" Tsunade asked.

Shizune nodded, disappeared back into her office and came rushing back with a log book in her hand. Turning to the right page, Shizun4e replied "it seems that Team 8 did sign up a week ago."

Tsunade rubbed her forehead. 'It truly sucks to be me,' she thought. Outside of her mind, Tsunade said "you can join the ANBU team going out to Oni. However, you'll have to wait at least another two weeks."

Kurenai nodded and she and her old team departed. Turning to Shizune, she said "Have Yugao's team report to me right this instant."

Shizune nodded. "Yes, Lady Tsunade."

She disappeared, closing the door gently. Tsunade reached into her desk and pulled out a bottle of sake. She also pulled out cups from another part of her desk and placed then onto the table. Pouring herself a generous amount of sake, she started to take small sips from the cup. Even though she didn't chug down sake like she used to, a drink here or there helped her clear her growing headache.

It was minutes later when Shizune returned with four ANBU members, all wearing their trademark masks. All of the ANBU bowed and the one wearing the cat mask spoke first. "What is your word, Lady Hokage?" the voice was clearly feminine but it also held some experience in dealing with the female Hokage. For her part, Tsunade smiled and answered.

"Your ANBU group's orders have been changed. Tomorrow, you will head out to **Uzu No Kuni** (Land of the Whirlpools). You shall search for Sakura there. When you reach there, search every last building. When you are done, come back here and prepare to move out to Oni No Kuni with Jounin sensei Yuki Kurenai and Chuunins Inuzaka Kiba, Hyūga Hinata and Aburame Shino. Any questions?" all of them shook their heads. "All are dismissed except for Cat."

While the others departed, Cat took of her mask and revealed herself. "What would you like to talk to me about, Lady Hokage?"

"You seem troubled, Tsunade remarked. What exactly are you thinking, Yugao?"

Yugao mulled her words over for a few minutes. "You have my team searching old ruins and towns to find someone that, for all we know, was never there to begin with. I am just wondering what is going through your mind."

Tsunade clasped her hands. "For all intents and purposes, you're right. However, I have to use every possible thought, every possible place to find my apprentice and my son. I know that you and quite possibly your entire team know that these places are not the proper location. I'm truly sorry, Yugao."

Yugao looked surprised. Before her was not the confident and collected Hokage. Before her was a broken woman, who had lost everything she held dear in her life. "You don't have to apologize. I also want to know, what about the hidden village?"

"Do your best to ignore the hidden village, Tsunade answered. No one other then natural Uzumaki blood can enter the whirlpools and come out alive. Just do your best and search in the places surrounding Uzu No Kuni.

Yugao nodded. "Anything else, Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Dismiss." Yugao nodded, put her cat mask on and shushined out of the office.

Tsunade waited until Yugao was gone. She took out a picture frame that she kept stored in one of her secret drawers. In the photo contained in the frame, she stood there with her in the middle, Naruto to her right and Sakura to her left. The photo was taken a little bit before their team had gone to the bridge. Tsunade was smiling and giving a smiling Naruto the bunny ears. Sakura was smiling as well and was giving the peace sign to the camera guy. Naruto, next to smiling, was giving his trademark foxy grin and had on his trademark jacket. A single tear started to form. 'I'm truly sorry for all that has happened to you Naruto, she thought. If I had been there when you were younger, you wouldn't have gone through all of the turmoil. I'm sorry, my godson.'

* * *

**Well, short chapter here. The next few chapters will elaborate and further the development of the story from other point's rather then just endless battle. **

**Also, don't forget to read and review. It's nice to see many comments on how my story is coming along. **

**Now many of you will wonder why I decided to write about Ino and Naruto getting together (next to a couple like Naruto and Hinata, for example). Truly, when I first started writing this, I honestly could not pick anyone else. Though I could see what many fanfiction writers could see in an InoxNaruto pairing.**

**Until next time, stay tuned on "It's More Then Just A Promise."**

**Next Chapter: Passions flare and Gaara makes a visit. **

**Poll: Should Sakura learn an elemental affinity? Yes No **

**If so, what affinity should she have?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. This upcoming story however, I do own.**

Thanks to all those that reviewed. The poll will last until the end of this chapter.

Now I get this review (two actually) from a reviewer that says my OC Amarante is a retarded name and that my reasons for Naruto leaving the village are retarded as well. Honestly, this person should have read the little bold comments at the end of the first chapter that said "comments and criticisms are welcome but no flames please."

If you have nothing productive to say, then don't say it at all. I like my honest reviewers who give suggestions and comments that help me realign the story from the original way I was going to write it. But calling something retarded in the story takes things too far.

Also, this story will strictly remain NarutoxShion.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Here is the next chapter.

* * *

_Oni No Kuni (three days after Sakura arrives)_

The hospital was quite, a stark contrast to her days in Konoha, when people would come in daily for the most questionable of injuries. Of course, the lack of noise was welcoming to Sakura. It allowed her time to think, a luxury not given to someone like her. 'Course, she thought. I never had a quite moment ever since I became an apprentice to Tsunade.'

Currently, she was looking at the daily report, a pencil tucked behind her ear. Nothing seemed to be out of order, though she could see that Mayumi was still recovering from her battle. 'It's amazing what these girls can do. They are genin age but they fight like jounin. Makes me jealous.' She inwardly cursed. The abilities of the girls surpassed all of the current genin in the Leaf village and all of the kunoichi of the Rookie Nine. She also had an inkling that they were on par with Naruto in terms of stamina, if what the paper in front of her was correct.

'Severe chakra exhaustion,' Sakura read in her mind. The emerald hair girl only suffered minor exhaustion. As a medic, she wanted to warn these two to tone down on the jutsus but if they were taught under Naruto, Sakura knew that her words would go in one ear and out the other. This situation was not going to be any different.

The door to her office was suddenly kicked in, startling Sakura. Standing in the doorway was Naruto, who was scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that Sakura, he said. I thought they made these doors stronger."

Sakura was still trying to catch her breath from the sudden appearance of Naruto. It took a minute but when she was able to, she gave Naruto a cross look. It only lasted a second before Sakura started to laugh. "Naruto, that is the lamest excuse on the face of the planet," she said.

Naruto walked into her office, carefully replacing the door. When he was finished, he turned to face Sakura. "I have to at least try, eh?" Naruto once again gave her his foxy grin.

Sakura smiled. "Just don't turn into Kakashi-sensei."

"What, u mean a pervert reading, constantly late teacher?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Cant believe I'm agreeing with you but yeah, don't turn into something like that." Sakura replied.

Naruto chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that. Unlike Ero-Sennin, I can keep my perverted side in check.

At the mention of Jiraya's pet name, Naruto grew sad. Jiraya's name would always make him sad because as much as he hated to admit it, Jiraya had been like a father to him. A perverted, money spending father but a father nonetheless. Naruto truly enjoyed his training trip with Jiraya, since the Toad Sage had showed him more then jutsu. Jiraya also taught him important life lessons and Naruto was sure that those lessons had done its intended job and matured Naruto. Jiraya, also of course, had tried to teach him some of his perverted ways. Naruto mostly tried to block them out but alas, it did not work.

Now Naruto was sure that those lessons will haunt them for the rest of his life. He remembered a particular incident about four months after they had begun their training trip.

_Flashback_

_As Jiraya and Naruto entered the town, Naruto could see that this town was small. There was a brothel located a ways down and about four bars scattered around the town. There was only one hotel, where Jiraya was leading the young blonde to._

_Naruto had grown stronger during his time with Jiraya. Sure it had only been four months ever since he left Konoha but Jiraya's teachings had been precise. He had wanted Naruto to start working on his chakra control and his timing summoning shadow clones. He had gotten better in both, albeit a little slowly in his control but it was an improvement none the less. _

_Naruto was roused from his thoughts when Jiraya started to say something. "Could you repeat that, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked._

_Jiraya started over, ignoring Naruto's pet name for him. "We'll be staying here for awhile. The big open fields should be a good training ground for you."_

_Naruto stared at him. "So what are we doing today then?"_

_Jiraya had already gotten the hotel key and was walking up the stairs. Putting the key into the lock and turning the knob, Jiraya set down his pack and answered Naruto._

"_We're just gonna take a look around, Jiraya answered. We also have to get small jobs so we can pay for whatever we need in the future."_

"_What about all the money you made from your books and your spy network?" Naruto asked incredulously._

_Jiraya wagged his finger. "That money is only used on emergencies and I don't want to use them for something as trivial as your clothing."_

_Naruto looked down at his clothing. He was still wearing his orange and blue jumpsuit. "What is wrong with the way I dress?" Naruto asked._

"_I'm sure you've heard it from other people about how the way you dress. I don't have to reiterate it."_

_Naruto sighed. "I guess I can get something better but it must have orange on it."_

_It was turn for Jiraya to sigh. "You know ninja are supposed to wear dark clothing. Wearing any light clothing only makes you a target for other ninja."_

_Naruto looked at his sensei. "But this is the only thing I could get from any of the stores in Konoha. Everywhere else kicked me out when they saw me."_

_The mention of what happened put a frown on Jiraya's face. Shaking his head, he told Naruto "don't worry about this town. I'm sure no one will kick you out of their store." Picking up his pack, Jiraya started out the door._

_Naruto asked "where are you going? Aren't you supposed to help me?"_

_Turning around, Jiraya answered "I'm meeting a contact of mine. We'll continue your training later tonight."_

_Naruto just looked at Jiraya. "Don't you mean your gonna get so drunk off your butt?"_

_Jiraya just laughed. "Why is it so hard to believe I'm actually meeting a contact of mine?"_

"_It's cause you're a womanizing pervert, Naruto answered. Though I guess I can give you the benefit of the doubt."_

_Jiraya patted Naruto on his back. "That's my boy. Now I hear that there's a brothel here. Maybe you would like to check it out?"_

_Naruto facepalmed. "What makes you think that I would actually visit that place?"_

_Jiraya shrugged. "Maybe you'll find something there you will enjoy. Have fun." Walking out of the hotel room, Jiraya silently closed the door behind him._

_Naruto just huffed and sat cross-legged on one of the two beds. 'Tch and he says I'll enjoy my time at the brothel, he thought. Like nothing could be farther from the truth.' Shaking his head, he formed his hand into the cross seal and shouted "Kage Bushin No Jutsu."_

_Out of the smoke rose four other Naruto's and they to took a position on one of the two beds. All of the Naruto's started to mold their chakra. It would be a few hours later before the real Naruto emerged from the room._

_As nighttime fell on the small town, Naruto was walking along one of the main roads inside the town. Jiraya had yet to come back and Naruto had wondered if he really should look for his sensei. Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto continued on his path, knowing that his pervy sensei could handle himself in all situations. Well, most if not all situations._

_Naruto's wonderings eventually made him go to the front entrance of the brothel. Sighing and steeling his resolve, Naruto pushed open the doors and entered the establishment._

_The inside of the brothel was white, extremely white. So much so that Naruto was blinded for a few seconds. Rubbing is eyes, Naruto looked around. The entrance area was made much like the hotel with a receptionist desk near the entrance. There was also another door further that probably led into the main hall. Naruto could only infer that from the main hall, there were two stairs, one that led to the dormitories for the women and one for the rooms where rich people could fuck their payed people. Naruto absolutely hated the system._

_Naruto walked to the desk. The person there looked up from her magazine and stared at Naruto. "Aren't you a little young for this place?" she asked._

_Naruto tapped his headband, signaling his affiliation and the fact that he was a ninja. The girl shrugged and asked "how may I help you?"_

_Naruto thought for a moment. "How much is it to get one of your girls?"_

"_500 ryo (I think this is 5 dollars)," the girl answered._

_Naruto reached into his frog wallet and counted his money. 'Hmm, i would have a lot left over but is it truly worth enacting my plan?' he thought. Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto took out the appropriate money and gave it to the girl. The girl took it and gave him a very heavy book._

"_This is the roster of our girls. Choose one and she'll be brought to one of the rooms," the receptionist told Naruto._

_Naruto nodded his head and took a seat on one of the chairs. Opening the book, he scanned through the book, reading each lady and noticing what she was good at, not that Naruto was really looking in-depth at that part. As Naruto scanned the book, his mind flew to Sakura and wondered what she was doing. Last he heard, she had been training under Oba-Chan. He only hoped that she would grow up to be a powerful kunoichi._

_Musing from his thoughts, Naruto finally found a girl that might help him with his plan. Bringing back the book to the girl, he pointed out the picture. When she took a look, her eyes widened and she asked "are you sure about this girl? She is a feisty one."_

_Naruto nodded. "I'm sure. Believe it."_

_The receptionist shrugged and went to make a call. After a few minutes, she put down the phone and turned to Naruto. "She is waiting for you. Go inside and take the right staircase. Your client is waiting in room 1010" (reference here. Kudos to anyone who can figure it out)._

_Naruto nodded again and went through the doors. The main hall was enormous, easily several meters wide. Naruto could also see two staircases, proving his earlier suspicions about this place. Walking to the right stairway, he took it up to the designated floor and walked down the hall. Stopping by the door labeled 1010; Naruto gently pushed open the door and entered._

_The room was pretty much standard. Queen sized bed, a bathroom with a Jacuzzi and a mirror. However, all of this was a small thing compared to the beauty that sat on the bed. Her picture did no justice to prepare Naruto for the pure beauty of the person._

_Said person had dark brown hair that reached her shoulders. She wore a midnight black kimono, with stars adorning the outfit. It looked like she had bee roused out of bed, since most of her hair was sticking up and some strands were out of place. Still though, the overall affect the girl had on him was startling to say the least. She also had a beautiful face but from what Naruto had read about her, her past life was one filled with misery. Naruto could only hope that he would break her out of her cold shell._

_The girl turned and faced Naruto. "So, how do you want this done?" she asked._

_Naruto did a double take. "What?" _

_The girl sighed. "I mean, do you want it straight, do you want anal, or are you going to make me a slave for tonight?" the girl asked._

_Traveling with Jiraya had taught Naruto many sexual terms (I mean, would you be surprised if he didn't learn). As such, Naruto knew what the girl was talking about. Shaking his head, Naruto told the girl "I don't want that at all. I just want to talk."_

_It was now the girl's turn to do a double-take. "A talk? None of my clients have wanted to just talk."_

_Naruto chuckled. "Trust me. I'm not like many people that you got to "service." I just want to know who you are."_

_The girl just looked at Naruto. 'Is he serious about this? She thought. This kid…he knows my pain and what I went through. Maybe giving him a chance might not be too bad after all.'_

_So for the next hour, Naruto talked to his client. He found out that the girl was named __**Eri**__ and she was a war orphan from __Kirigakure. Her entire family had been killed during the first purges of Bloodline War. Luckily (or unluckily), Eri had been out with her grandmother when the purges began and her grandmother was able to get them both out of the village. Both had traveled to this village. The grandmother had died shortly after arriving, leaving Eri with little money and no job at all. She had been employed in the brothel a little over 2 years ago and has been working here ever since._

_Eri stopped her story when she felt a pain in her left shoulder. Taking her right hand, she tried to lower the pain but she kept on wincing._

_Naruto saw this and got behind her. "Here, I know a few things to help you out."_

_Eri allowed him and Naruto began his massage. Paying close attention to her shoulder and collarbone areas, Naruto's hands moved with a grace one would expect of a seasoned massager. Eri started to sigh in content and her eyes started to droop. As the massage continued, Eri was in heaven. 'This is…awesome, she thought. Whoever thought his hands were so good at this.'_

_Sadly, all times must come to an end. Since Naruto had paid 500 ryo, he could only see Eri for three hours at least. So with a tired sigh, he bid Eri a farewell and started toward the door._

_Eri opened her eyes. "Will I ever see you again?" she asked._

_Naruto turned his head toward her. "I promise you will see me again. Believe it."_

_And with that, Naruto walked out of the room._

* * *

_Hotel_

_As Naruto entered the hotel, he was struck by how quiet it was. 'Ero-sennin should have been back by now,' he thought. Cautiously entering the room that they were staying in, Naruto saw Jiraya scribbling something into his notepad. Jiraya looked up and smiled. "Well gaki, he started, seems you were getting busy tonight." Jiraya finished with a perverted giggle (do men giggle?)_

_Naruto just rolled his eyes. "It was nothing, Pervy Sage."_

_Jiraya giggled again. "My toads say it was nothing."_

_Naruto stopped. "Wait, you were spying on me?"_

_Jiraya stood up. "Of course gaki. You are a gold mine of good information. Now, since you have interacted with a girl, I think it's time I told you information about girls."_

_Hearing this, Naruto tried to bolt toward the door. Jiraya was faster, however, and had caught Naruto before he started to the door. Tying Naruto to a chair, Jiraya took out his first ever Icha Icha book and started reading from the book._

_The screams of Uzumaki Naruto were heard by the entire town for the rest of the night._

_Flashback End_

Naruto winced. That night, he learned much more about females then he ever thought possible. Course, something good came out with that. He got to see Eri every single day. The two grew to become fast friends and Naruto had been able to find work in the brothel as a cooker. The two of them had stayed in the town for another three months before departing. Eri had given him a heartfelt goodbye, tears streaming from her eyes. Giving him a kiss to the lips and a bear hug, she waved to the pair as they continued walking down the road. Naruto looked back and saw Eri waving at him. He waved back and turned around.

Only Jiraya had seen him start to cry.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Naruto shook his head. His daydreaming had taken up much more time they he had realized.

"It's nothing Sakura," he replied.

"Oh, Sakura said. Well, you are doing anything tonight?"

Naruto nodded. "I have a date with Shion later tonight."

Sakura nodded. "I hope you have fun"

Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry, I will."

As Naruto turned and started toward the door, he would know later how much fun he would get that night.

* * *

_Nighttime_

As Shion smoothed out the last contours of her outfit, her mind wandered to the devious plan she had set up for both her and Naruto. A fine restaurant at the edge of the village, around a candle light, a conversation or two, food by the best known chef in all of Hi No Kuni and ending with a searing kiss to end the night.

As the thoughts ran through her head, Shion blushed and her hands traveled to her cheeks. 'At least, I hope it goes out the way I planned,' she thought.

She was interrupted when the doors of her temple started to open. 'Oh, he's here. Time to get started.'

As Naruto entered the temple, he was struck by how serene it looked at night. 'Course, maybe that's because it isn't as hectic,' Naruto thought.

Naruto shouted. "SHION?"

"Over here," came a voice.

Naruto turned his entire body toward the voice, wishing later that he didn't. Shion was leaning against her bathroom door wearing an amethyst dress that came down below her knees, allowing Naruto a gorgeous look at her legs. The dress was a v-neck, which left a LOT of cleavage showing. Not only that but Naruto could tell that the dress was just a little bit tight, accenting Shion's curves. Now Naruto was truly rendered speechless when Shion took the clip holding up her hair out, allowing her long hair to flow freely. Shion was also wearing two inch purple heels.

Shion giggled. "Well, anything to say, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head. Naruto's brain was still trying to process what was standing right in front of him. 'I honestly thought that Shion could not turn out more beautiful,' Naruto thought.

Shion giggled again and smoothed out her dress. "Well, shall we go?"

Naruto nodded his head dumbly. Shion rolled her eyes, walked up to Naruto and took his hand, and departed from her room.

The night was young for these two and it was time to get it started.

* * *

_Later_

Shion was walking back with Naruto, a stuffed animal being held by her right am, her left hand was clasping Naruto's right hand. The date had been spectacular, one of epic proportions. There had been a festival in town, a large on at that. After getting some snacks at a vendor, Naruto had proceeded to win Shion some prizes. One of course was the huge stuffed animal but he had also won her a gold bracelet, a gold necklace and a pair of earrings. The necklace had a small pendent with an amethyst jewel in the middle. The bracelet had small writing going around it. It said **Subete no seimei no tame no 1tsu,-ai no tame ni wa **(Japanese: "For one, For all, For love, For life).

As the two continued to walk back, Naruto's hand went from Shion's hand to around her waist. Shion laid her head on Naruto's shoulder, enjoying the cool air and the bathing light from the moon. Passerby watched the scene with an interest, since their leader had never taken to a man before. But Naruto was unlike any man that Shion had ever met. Loyal to a fault, quick acting but smart in his own right and a hell of a good boyfriend. This was all rolled up into one package that made up Uzumaki Naruto.

By the time her thoughts had ended, Naruto and Shion had reached the doors to her palace/home. As Naruto kissed her forehead and waved a goodbye, Shion initiated her plan. Grabbing the collar of Naruto's shirt, Shion brought him back into a heart stopping kiss. Shion didn't stop there, slipping her tongue into Naruto's mouth and explored everything.

Naruto, for a lack of better words, was astonished. He went with his instincts, wrapping both arms around Shion's waist and pulled her closer. He too used his tongue and both of them started to wage a tongue war. Naruto eventually won and slipped his tongue into her mouth, earning a small moan from Shion. Naruto tasted sushi but he absolutely enjoyed this kind.

Shion was in bliss. This was far better then what she could ever imagine or even try to figure. Not one to be outdone, she was able to slip her tongue back into Naruto's mouth, loving the ramen taste that he had. She wanted more, way more.

Unfortunately, both had to separate for air. But then Shion pulled him into the palace and locked the doors via a switch on her wall.

Naruto looked at Shion. "You sure you want to do this, Shion?" he asked.

Shion smiled and pulled him closer. "I've never been surer of anything".

**Lemon Scene Begin**

Shion pulled him into another kiss, slipping her tongue back into Naruto's mouth. She tasted him again and she knew that she would never get tired of it.

Naruto, who had to dip his head to catch Shion's lips, allowed her tongue into his mouth. For now, he would let her be the dominant one. For now. Meanwhile, his hands wrapped around the middle of her back and started moving down, beyond her spine and her hips, reaching her luscious rear. He cupped one of the cheeks, earning a gasp/moan from Shion. Naruto took the initiative and thrust his tongue into her mouth, again tasting sushi.

All the while, both of them had started moving closer to the bed. The temperature in the room felt like it was going up and it would only go higher. Shion tugged at Naruto's shirt. She wanted it off.

Naruto smiled and took a step back. Reaching for the buttons, Naruto unhinged them one at time and when the shirt was off, Shion got a full view of his well-muscled chest and abs. her hands reached out and felt his six pack. She shuddered, knowing that the coming night would be one of pain and of pleasure.

Naruto suddenly wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. His mouth was right next to her ear, his hot breath teasing her, making her even hotter.

"It's not right that I undress and you're still standing there," he said his voice nothing higher then a whisper.

Shion nodded. Naruto started to kiss her neck, leaving warm imprints. Shion gasped as the warm sensation filled her. Spikes of pleasure ran up and down. All Shion could see was a hazy blond. She felt the zipper on the back of her dress start to loosen. Moments later, the dress came off and Naruto was introduced to a site that would be imprinted into his mind.

Shion herself had pale, milky white skin, with not a single blemish anywhere. Her amethyst eyes regarded Naruto as his gaze slipped lower and lower. Unlike the guess he made on her breast several weeks ago, Shion had mid D-cup sized knockers. The nipples were pink and were aroused. Naruto's gaze slipped further downward, catching her lean stomach and her luscious thighs. Her womanhood was covered by a white thong but he could see that she was practically gushing. All in all, only one word came to Naruto's mind about the bombshell that was in front of him.

"Breathtaking," Naruto said.

Shion blushed. But she also felt self-conscious and folder her arms across her chest. 'Does he think their too big, she thought? Or maybe their not big enough.'

Seeing the action, Naruto reached out and grabbed both of her arms. He shook his head. He leaned down and start6ed kissing her neck again. He heard another moan erupt from her throat. His hands also started to travel downward and cupped both of the mounds. Shion gasped when she felt Naruto's hands on her breasts which turned into moaning when he started to knead them. Her moans started to increase in pitch when he licked her left nipple and played with her right. Naruto then switched, licking her right nipple while his hand massaged her left.

Naruto's other hand traveled downward and slipped into her panties, massaging Shion's folds. Shion moaned louder this time. Smiling like a fox, Naruto inserted one of his fingers into her folds and started to pump. The lessons by his late sensei Jiraya were starting to show and take effect.

Shion, to her credit, could not form any sort of coherent words. All she was reduced to was long moans or short gasps. When Naruto's finger entered her folds, she gave a very loud moan. Her legs felt like jelly and it only got worse when Naruto started to pump his finger back and forth.

"N...aruto, she breathed out. I can't…"

Naruto got the message because he took his finger out of her pussy, stopped playing with her breast and carried her over to the bed. Setting her down gently, he took off her thong and started to lick and lap at her folds. Long moans erupted from his girlfriend. His eyes then spotted the bundle of nerves. Giving him trademark grin, he went back to licking her folds and around it, paying close attention, trying to find out where Shion's sweet spots were.

"N-Narutoooo, Shion breathed out again. I-I'm so…"

Naruto knew how close she was to her end. He could see how much fluids were gushing out of her folds. Wanting to speed up the process, he closed his mouth over the nub and started to lick and suck at them.

Ever since Naruto began his foreplay, a knot had been building and getting tighter inside Shion's stomach. When he started to lick her folds, she knew that she wouldn't last long. When he attacked her clit, that was the end.

Shion screamed, unable to comprehend the vast emotions running through her. She felt almost lightweight and breathless. She rode her orgasm for a good minute or so. The high seemed never-ending. When it all ended, Shion was breathing heavily, sweat running down her body. She felt spikes of pleasure coming from her nether regions. She cracked an eye and saw Naruto lapping up her juices.

Naruto looked up and saw Shion look at him with dark eyes. "You like that didn't you?" he asked.

Shion did not answer him but instead flipped him onto his back. Naruto was still shocked when Shion started to kiss downward, starting from his neck and ending just above the line of his pants. Giving Naruto a sensual smile, Shion unbuttoned his pants and slid them down. She rubbed her hand over Naruto's erection through his boxers, getting a moan from the blonde male. She then took the waistband of the boxers and pulled them down too, only to receive the shock of her life.

Naruto's cock was 9 inches and so wide that one of her hands couldn't fit around it. It felt like it was pulsing, alive even. She reached out, grabbed his cock and started to pump, paying close attention to the head of his stick. When she felt a small intake of air, Shion knew she had hit a spot that was sensitive to her doings. She also fondled his sack, earning another moan from the ninja. Remembering what one of the nobles had done to her husband; Shion bent down and licked the underside of his cock, from the very bottom to the very head.

Naruto gave a hearty groan, his hands closed around the sheets. That feeling! It was erotic and sexual in every sense of the word. He nearly blew his load right there but he had to hold on. He wanted to last the night, for both him and Shion.

Shion licked his shaft was once again but then closed her mouth around his cock head. She then lowered her head until she could feel his cock hit the back of her throat. She measured how far she went. Only halfway but better then she thought. She then bobbed her head, so slowly and so strongly that Naruto got a pained expression on his face. Her cheeks were caved in as she sucked on his stick, her tongue sometimes swirling around his head.

Naruto was close, too close. "Shion, he breathed. I'm really…"

Shion nodded her head and moved back so that only the tip was in her mouth. She then wrapped both hands around his cock and started to pump. Naruto's cock throbbed again and Shion tasted his seed. It was gushing now and she tried her best to swallow all of it. She got through three spurts before the next one overfilled her and some of his cum escaped and went on her chest. It was about several seconds after that Shion felt his cock stop twitching and her mouth left his cock. She swallowed what was left then licked her lips to catch any remnants. She spotted the cum that managed to get on her breasts and started to swirl them until they disappeared. Her gaze turned to Naruto, who had caught her doing that and his cock had risen to full mast again.

Naruto watched as Shion sat up and approached his meat. She grabbed it and positioned it at her entrance. Giving him a smile, she lowered herself and saw the tip enter her folds. As inch by inch started to disappear, Shion felt a slight discomfort from his cock entering and her.

Naruto felt the tip hit a barrier. He spoke to her "you know you can stop here."

Shion shook her head. With that action, she slid further down his cock, pas her hymen. Naruto moved his hands to her hips to prevent her from taking all of him in. Shion started to cry. The immense pain was nothing she ever felt before.

Naruto, seeing the tears, sat up and kissed Shion. He also used his hands and kneaded both of her breasts. Anything he did lessened the pain that Shion was feeling. Nothing too big but just enough to help her with the pain.

After a minute, Shion nodded, indicating she was ready. Naruto got the message and started to move his hips slowly. He could see that Shion winced a little every time. He was also trying not to cum too early. Shion's pussy was clamping onto his cock like a vice, her walls massaging him. He hoped to make Shion feel what he was feeling, the pleasure that she was unwillingly giving him.

After another few minutes, Shion's face had gone from pain to one of growing pleasure. Naruto could hear small moans coming from Shion that rose in pitch and volume the more they went at it.

"Faster Naruto-kun," Shion said, barely able to form words.

He nodded and started to pump in and out, faster and faster. Her moans started to get louder and louder, enticing Naruto and making him go even faster. Her pussy was flowing fluids, which only slickened and made it easier for Naruto's cock to piston in and out of her folds.

All too soon, Naruto could feel his impending release. Fearing that he would get Shion pregnant, he tried to pull out and cum somewhere else. Shion, however, clamped her legs, preventing Naruto from moving. She leaned and spoke into his ear. "It's okay, I want your hot cum inside my pussy. Please."

The begging tone was all Naruto needed to continue. Pumping his cock into her wet folds, Naruto loved the way Shion screamed every time he hit her G-Spot. Faster and faster he went until he felt his balls churning. He buried all of his cock into Shion, releasing his seed into her womb.

Shion moaned loudly, as another orgasm tore through her body. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as his hot seed made its way through her body. Shion felt so full, fuller then when Naruto's cock entered her. She collapsed as Naruto pulled the sheets over both of their bodies, blissful sleep entering their minds.

**Lemon End**

* * *

**Yay, finally this chapter is done. Thank you to all of my faithful reviewers who have stuck by me while my senioritis kicked in at the worst possible time.**

**So, I'll also be working on another story. It is a female Naruto story with a harem. The story will take place after Naruko comes back from the training trip with Jiraya. It will follow much of the same lines as the canon does but with a few major changes. Unfortunately, I'm not going to reveal all of them until this story is published.**

**Chapter 9: Q&A! Inbox me any questions you have with the story and I'll answer them as best as I can.**

**Chapter 10: Repercussions and a Kage visits.**

**Till then, ciao.**


End file.
